Lotus Isle
Encyclopedia
Lotus Isle Amusement Park opened on June 27, 1930. Known as "the Wonderland of the Pacific Northwest", was located in Portland
, Oregon
, just off the east tip of Hayden Island. Lotus Isle was located just east of the more successful Jantzen Beach
amusement park. Lotus Isle spread out over 128 acre (0.51799808 km²) and at the time was Portland's largest amusement park.
In 1928, a temperamental bull elephant named "Tusko" was sold to Lotus Isle from John Ringling
. The elephant soon destroyed several pavilions after being spooked by a low-flying stunt plane.
The fun was cut short as tragedy struck on August 28, 1930 when a young boy drowned after falling from the 3/4 mile-long roller coaster. The next day, owner Edwin Platt committed suicide. Subsequent management tried new attractions to draw crowds, but on August 24, 1931, just less than one year after the drowning, the park's $90,000 ballroom burned down. Lotus Isle Park lasted one more season, until 1932, when its assets were sold in bankruptcy.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, just off the east tip of Hayden Island. Lotus Isle was located just east of the more successful Jantzen Beach
Jantzen Beach
Jantzen Beach Amusement Park was a popular amusement park from 1928 to 1970 in Portland, Oregon, on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River. "The Coney Island of the West" opened on May 26, 1928 as the largest amusement park in the nation, covering over at the northern tip of...
amusement park. Lotus Isle spread out over 128 acre (0.51799808 km²) and at the time was Portland's largest amusement park.
In 1928, a temperamental bull elephant named "Tusko" was sold to Lotus Isle from John Ringling
John Ringling
John Nicholas Ringling now is the most well-known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Brothers Circus to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the circus into what it is today.-Early circus life:John was...
. The elephant soon destroyed several pavilions after being spooked by a low-flying stunt plane.
The fun was cut short as tragedy struck on August 28, 1930 when a young boy drowned after falling from the 3/4 mile-long roller coaster. The next day, owner Edwin Platt committed suicide. Subsequent management tried new attractions to draw crowds, but on August 24, 1931, just less than one year after the drowning, the park's $90,000 ballroom burned down. Lotus Isle Park lasted one more season, until 1932, when its assets were sold in bankruptcy.
Attractions
- "Wiz" - wood Roller CoasterRoller coasterThe 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...
- Alpine Scenic Railway neon Eiffel Tower sign at the entrance
- 1914 Herschell-Spillman menagerie merry-go-round -- currently located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park