Al-Tro Island Park
Encyclopedia
Al-Tro Island Park was an amusement park
built in the early 20th century in the village of Menands
near the border with city of Albany
, New York
; formerly the park was known as Pleasure Island. The island has since been covered with fill and used for Interstate 787
.
.
By Memorial Day
, 1907, Pleasure Island was built up and re-opened as Al-Tro Island Park, named for the two cities it was located between, Albany and Troy
. It featured 40-piece orchestra
in a dance hall, a roller-skating rink, a roller coaster
, a theater
with 4,000 seats, its own miniature railroad, a pony track and more than a hundred other attractions. The park even had its own police force consisting of 15 uniformed officers to maintain safety and order. A boardwalk
extended the entire length of the island.
By the early 1920s, Al-Tro Island Park began to fall out of favor due to changing tastes in leisure. No one knows exactly when it closed or what happened to it. Most agree that the park "vanished without a trace." The Mid-City Amusement Park was constructed as a replacement nearby on Broadway, also in Menands, but it too has since been destroyed .
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
built in the early 20th century in the village of Menands
Menands, New York
Menands is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Louis Menand...
near the border with city of Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; formerly the park was known as Pleasure Island. The island has since been covered with fill and used for Interstate 787
Interstate 787
Interstate 787 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is at the Interstate 87/New York State Thruway exit 23 toll plaza southwest of downtown Albany...
.
History
In the late 1800s, thousands of visitors jammed Pleasure Island, also known as "Dreamland." In truth, it was not an actual island, but was separated from the mainland by the Erie CanalErie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
.
By Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, 1907, Pleasure Island was built up and re-opened as Al-Tro Island Park, named for the two cities it was located between, Albany and Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
. It featured 40-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in a dance hall, a roller-skating rink, a roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
, a theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
with 4,000 seats, its own miniature railroad, a pony track and more than a hundred other attractions. The park even had its own police force consisting of 15 uniformed officers to maintain safety and order. A boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
extended the entire length of the island.
By the early 1920s, Al-Tro Island Park began to fall out of favor due to changing tastes in leisure. No one knows exactly when it closed or what happened to it. Most agree that the park "vanished without a trace." The Mid-City Amusement Park was constructed as a replacement nearby on Broadway, also in Menands, but it too has since been destroyed .