What is exactly is going on in this photo?

Life is a Lark at Willow Grove Park

Every few years, I get nostalgic about a place that I never experienced during my lifetime. Willow Grove Park opened on Memorial Day in 1896 (known as Decoration Day at the time) in my hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. It went on to become known as one of the world's best amusement parks. Two months before I was born in November 1980, the entire site was demolished and cleared to make way for a 3-story mall -- "Willow Grove Park Mall" -- which still stands today.

At any given time, there are thousands of old, original postcards from the park on eBay. I'd been meaning to collect a few for a long time. A few days ago, I finally bought a set of 10 unused postcards from 1906-1907. I have no idea what I'll do with them. I've been thinking of a few creative ways to display them at home. Mostly, I just like having them.

I don't why I'm fascinated with the park. When I was about 10 years old, I asked my parents to take me to the local library so I could learn more. The librarian asked me if it was for school project, and I said "No. I'm just curious." Hearing this, she was probably a little reluctant to dig out their treasure trove of old newspaper clippings, photos and books about the park. But she did so anyway, and I was happy.

The postcard above shows the park in 1906, before there were too many amusement rides. Still, people came from all over the world to experience it. Renowned musicians and orchestras played at the park every night, like John Philip Sousa, Walter Damrosch and Victor Herbert. In the Philadelphia region, it was considered somewhat of a resort, or "Philadelphia's Fairyland." The park was meant to provide an edifying, enlightening experience. Even the rides were intended to carry a sense of refinement, rather than strictly thrills (though the park did evolve into that as tastes changed over the decades). The image on this postcard doesn't do the park justice. But you do get a sense of the decorum and the rolling hills in the background. And it's a pretty stark contrast to what that area looks like today -- a sea of concrete and commercialism.

By the mid-70s, the park had been renamed Six Gun Territory. It had a wild-west theme and it was packed with amusement rides. People on a Facebook group I follow describe Six Gun as a scary, crime-ridden place. Due to failures from several changes in ownership, aging rides, and a general decline in interest, the park was closed in 1976. It sat abandoned until 1980.

When I read about the park's closure, it affects me as if I had actually been there myself. It's similar to the feeling I get whenever I read about the Beatles' breakup. ("WHY!?!") Shame I couldn't have experienced it. But I have the history, I suppose.

More postcards, for the curious:


And some video footage from the 50s-70s: