Long Branch Park
Encyclopedia
Long Branch Park is a public park in Onondaga County outside of Syracuse, New York
, located in the town of Liverpool
on Long Branch Road near NYS Route 370
and John Glenn Boulevard. The park is situated on the northern shore of Onondaga Lake
and is often misidentified as an extension of Onondaga Lake Park
which wraps around the eastern shore of the lake to the south shore.
Founded in 1882 by Ben and George Maurer, Long Branch Amusement Park was originally an amusement park
with boxing arenas, an arcade and a trolley
. The amusement park closed in 1938.
Syracuse's largest mall, Carousel Center
is located to the south of the lake and features an original carousel
#18 from the amusement park.
. The name of the park came from the "famed" Chestnut
trees that grew in the area.
The park offered attractions that were family oriented including playgrounds, picnic areas, baseball games, skating parties and Fourth of July fireworks. For the sportsman, the park offered ice boating, row boating, bowling alleys, a billards room and a shooting gallery. Additionally, the park had boxing arenas, an arcade and a trolley
.
Other features of the park included; a dance pavilion, a restaurant, an arcade and various amusement rides including a ferris wheel
and carousel
.
A combination of growing pollution in the lake and the fact that trolley services to the lake had been discontinued and the increased popularity of the automobile, all contributed to the final closure of the park.
The automobile allowed vacationers to travel to the Thousand Islands
or Adirondack Mountains
for their leisure time, as a result, ending the attraction of the local amusement park.
brought new life to the area when Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt turned the State land over to Onondaga County during the New Deal
era. Funding from the Work relief program, Onondaga County Emergency Work Bureau helped the county turn the area into Long Branch Park, a public park, during the early 1930s.
at 3813 Long Branch Road and is made up of three reserved shelters; Riverview, Glen and Knoll as well as a 100 feet (30.5 m) sledding hill. Major annual events held here include the Great American Antiquefest and the Scottish Games.
Long Branch Park is open year round and offers a sledding hill in winter, cross-country skiing, vantages for high school and college Regatta events and multiple activities during warmer months. Local schools use the park for sports activities; mainly track and field. Some popular annual events at Long Branch Park include an extensive antique festival, numerous automotive shows, Oktoberfest, Scottish Festival, outdoor theater and other local events.
In the summer of 2006, Long Branch Park was expanded to include the addition of a small sub-park with paved walkways, a parking area and children's playground.
was brought to Long Branch Park around 1926 where it remained for the next 15 years. After the park closed in 1938, the carousel
was purchased at an auction in 1941 by Roseland Park
in Canandaigua, New York where it was in use for another 43 years.
The Pyramid Companies' later purchased the carousel
at auction and restored it to its original condition and it is now the "centerpiece" of the Carousel Center
shopping mall located on the south side of the lake where it is still in use.
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, located in the town of Liverpool
Liverpool, New York
Liverpool is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 2,505 at the 2000 census. The name was adopted from the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom...
on Long Branch Road near NYS Route 370
New York State Route 370
New York State Route 370 is an east–west state highway in central New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 104 and NY 104A south of the Wayne County village of Red Creek to a junction with U.S. Route 11 in the Onondaga County city of Syracuse...
and John Glenn Boulevard. The park is situated on the northern shore of Onondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York located northwest of Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums. Although it is near the Finger...
and is often misidentified as an extension of Onondaga Lake Park
Onondaga Lake Park
Onondaga Lake Park is located on the eastern shore of Onondaga Lake outside of Syracuse, New York at 6790 Onondaga Lake Trail in Liverpool....
which wraps around the eastern shore of the lake to the south shore.
Founded in 1882 by Ben and George Maurer, Long Branch Amusement Park was originally an amusement park
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...
with boxing arenas, an arcade and a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
. The amusement park closed in 1938.
Syracuse's largest mall, Carousel Center
Carousel Center
Carousel Center is a , seven-story super-regional shopping and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York. It has eight anchor store slots - currently filled with Best Buy, Bon Ton, Forever 21 , JCPenney, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, and Sports Authority...
is located to the south of the lake and features an original carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
#18 from the amusement park.
History
In 1882, Ben Maurer and George Maurer purchased the land and developed Long Branch Amusement Park on the northern shore of Onondaga LakeOnondaga Lake
Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York located northwest of Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums. Although it is near the Finger...
. The name of the park came from the "famed" Chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
trees that grew in the area.
Amusement park
In 1925, the welcoming sign to the park boasted "New Long Branch Amusement Park -- Let All Who Enter Here Leave Care Behind."The park offered attractions that were family oriented including playgrounds, picnic areas, baseball games, skating parties and Fourth of July fireworks. For the sportsman, the park offered ice boating, row boating, bowling alleys, a billards room and a shooting gallery. Additionally, the park had boxing arenas, an arcade and a trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
.
Other features of the park included; a dance pavilion, a restaurant, an arcade and various amusement rides including a ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
and carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
.
Amusement park demise
On September 15, 1912, a tornado swept through the park, destroying 40 homes. Ben Maurer rebuilt the park which survived for another 26 years before its final demise in 1938.A combination of growing pollution in the lake and the fact that trolley services to the lake had been discontinued and the increased popularity of the automobile, all contributed to the final closure of the park.
The automobile allowed vacationers to travel to the Thousand Islands
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
or Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
for their leisure time, as a result, ending the attraction of the local amusement park.
County owned public park
The abandoned Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation became a dumping ground in the early 20th century, however, the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
brought new life to the area when Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt turned the State land over to Onondaga County during the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
era. Funding from the Work relief program, Onondaga County Emergency Work Bureau helped the county turn the area into Long Branch Park, a public park, during the early 1930s.
Salt museum
Included in the project was the construction of the Salt Museum which was built around a still-standing boiling block chimney. The building stands on the site of the Sampson Jaqueth Salt Manufactory and was erected in 1856. One-third of the original chimney survives. The museum opened in 1933 and is still in operation. The museum is operated by the Onondaga County Parks Department and is closed during the winter months.Recent years
The park is located at the northern end of Onondaga Lake ParkOnondaga Lake Park
Onondaga Lake Park is located on the eastern shore of Onondaga Lake outside of Syracuse, New York at 6790 Onondaga Lake Trail in Liverpool....
at 3813 Long Branch Road and is made up of three reserved shelters; Riverview, Glen and Knoll as well as a 100 feet (30.5 m) sledding hill. Major annual events held here include the Great American Antiquefest and the Scottish Games.
Long Branch Park is open year round and offers a sledding hill in winter, cross-country skiing, vantages for high school and college Regatta events and multiple activities during warmer months. Local schools use the park for sports activities; mainly track and field. Some popular annual events at Long Branch Park include an extensive antique festival, numerous automotive shows, Oktoberfest, Scottish Festival, outdoor theater and other local events.
In the summer of 2006, Long Branch Park was expanded to include the addition of a small sub-park with paved walkways, a parking area and children's playground.
Carousel
The carouselCarousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
was brought to Long Branch Park around 1926 where it remained for the next 15 years. After the park closed in 1938, the carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
was purchased at an auction in 1941 by Roseland Park
Roseland Park
Roseland Park is a now defunct amusement park previously located at 169 Lake Shore Drive in the city of Canandaigua, New York. The park is located along the north shore of Canandaigua Lake. Roseland started operation in 1925 under its founder and original owner, William Muar...
in Canandaigua, New York where it was in use for another 43 years.
The Pyramid Companies' later purchased the carousel
Carousel
A carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
at auction and restored it to its original condition and it is now the "centerpiece" of the Carousel Center
Carousel Center
Carousel Center is a , seven-story super-regional shopping and entertainment complex on the shore of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York. It has eight anchor store slots - currently filled with Best Buy, Bon Ton, Forever 21 , JCPenney, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, and Sports Authority...
shopping mall located on the south side of the lake where it is still in use.
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Park Events
- Antiquefest - Annual event in July.
- Bavarianfest: First Sunday of August each year – Live music, dancing, German food and drink, Schuhplattler and folk dance performances, and Gemütlichkeit.
- Walk MS (Multiple Sclerosis) - Sponsored by MS Society - Early May.
- Scottish Games - Annual event in August, celebrated for over 69 years.