| Canobie Lake Park | |
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| Logo of Canobie Lake Park | |
| Location | Salem, New Hampshire, US  |
| Coordinates | 42°47′42″N 71°15′01″W / 42.795°N 71.25028°WCoordinates: 42°47′42″N 71°15′01″W / 42.795°N 71.25028°W |
| Address | 85 North Policy Street |
| Website | http://www.canobie.com |
| Opened | 1902[1] |
| Operating season | April through September[2], October (as part of Halloween from Canobie Lake) |
| Rides | 47 total
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| Slogan | Just For Fun |
Canobie Lake Park is an amusement park located in Salem, New Hampshire, about 30 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts.
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Description
Canobie Lake Park opened on August 23, 1902, as a trolley park for the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company.[3] The amusement park has opened every summer since then. In the park's early years, it was known for its flower gardens, promenades and gentle attractions. From the 1930s to the early 1950s, Canobie Lake Park’s Dancehall Theater became known as an entertainment destination hosting names such as Guy Lombardo, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, and later, Sonny & Cher and Aerosmith.[1] Today, owned by 3 different families, the park features over 50 rides, including roller coasters, a log flume, a hand-painted antique carousel, a steam train, a Ferris wheel, the "Starblaster", "Dodgems", "DaVinci's Dream", over a dozen kiddie rides, a variety of foods, prize games, three arcades, live entertainment, fireworks, and more.
The Yankee Cannonball, a 1930s-era wooden roller coaster, is one of the park's best known rides. The park also has a looping, steel roller coaster named the Canobie Corkscrew, designed by Arrow Dynamics. It was formerly located at Old Chicago, where it was called the "Chicago Loop".[4] There is also a kiddie coaster, called "The Dragon". Canobie Lake Park and Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut are the only theme parks to compete with the much larger Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts.
The park also features one of the few dark rides in New England, titled "Mine of Lost Souls". Passengers board a "mine train" and are transported into the depths of a dark mine, which begins to collapse. Another flat ride at Canobie is the "Psychodrome", a 12-car Sizzler ride located in a dome, with special effects lighting and music.
Located towards the back of the park, along the lake, is a Chute-the-Chutes ride titled "The Boston Tea Party". Riders board a large boat and are transported up a lift hill. They turn around and plunge down a tunnel into the water below, creating a large wave.
Also in the back portion of the park is a rotor ride named "Turkish Twist". Riders stand with their backs to the wall of a cylindrical drum (with no ceiling, so others can watch from above). The entire drum begins spinning, and the riders are pushed against the wall by the strong centripetal force. The floor then drops out from beneath them, while they remain stuck to the wall.
In 2001, the park opened "Ocean Trip", which has been replaced by "Boston Harbor Patrol" (to fit the "Boston Tea Party" theme).
2002 was the park's 100th season. In that year, it opened an S&S Power Double Shot ride named "Starblaster".[5] In 2003 the park opened "DaVinci's Dream", a Chair-O-Planes-type ride. "Wipeout", a tropical surf theme ride, replaced "Kosmo Jets" (an SDC Telecombat ride). It opened for the last three days of the 2004 season, and was officially opened in 2005. Also in 2005, the park opened a new water park called "Castaway Island". The park also added a ride called "Skater". "Skater" took up some of the removed "Rockin' Rider" site, but has since been moved to the old location of the "Paratroopers" ride (which will be sold and has been removed from the park). In 2007, Canobie Lake opened a HUSS Frisbee named "Xtreme Frisbee" at the original "Rockin' Rider" site.
Rides at Canobie Lake Park
Black diamond rides
| Name | MFG | Year Added | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starblaster | S&S Power |
|
Replaced the "Moon Orbiter" |
| Canobie Corkscrew | Arrow Dynamics |
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The park's only steel coaster and the only coaster with loops |
| Wipeout | Chance Morgan |
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Replaced the "Kosmojets" |
| Pirata | S.D.C. |
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| Psychodrome | Eli Bridge Company |
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An indoor Scrambler ride with music and various visual effects |
| Turkish Twist | S.D.C.[citation needed] |
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| Xtreme Frisbee | HUSS |
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Replaced the Galaxi coaster |
Blue square rides
| Name | MFG | Year Added | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DaVinci's Dream | Wood Design bv[citation needed] |
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| Yankee Cannonball | Philadelphia Toboggan Company |
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| Skater | Zamperla |
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| Boston Tea Party | O.D. Hopkins Associates, Inc. |
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| Policy Pond | O.D. Hopkins Associates, Inc. |
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| Timber Splash | WhiteWater West Industries |
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| Giant Sky Wheel | Preston Barbieri[citation needed] |
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| Crazy Cups | Philadelphia Toboggan Company |
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| Mine of Lost Souls | Sally Corporation |
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| Dodgems |
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| Twist & Shout | Sellner Manufacturing | ||
| Rowdy Roosters | Chambers |
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| Caterpillar | Harry Traver |
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Originally purchased from Palisades Amusement Park[citation needed] |
| Dragon Coaster | Zamperla |
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| Over the Rainbow | Zamperla |
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Green circle rides
| Name | MFG | Year Added | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canobie 500 | Arrow Dynamics |
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| Antique Carousel | Looff |
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| Blue Heron Lake Cruise |
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| Boston Harbor Patrol |
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| Antique Cars | Arrow Dynamics | ||
| Sky Ride | O.D. Hopkins & Universal Design |
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| Jungle Bounce | S&S Power |
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| Flower Power | William Mangels |
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Kiddie Whip |
| Alpine Swing | Sartori Rides International |
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Kiddie version of Da Vinci's Dream |
| Mini Dinos | Zamperla | ||
| Junior Sports Cars | Arrow Dynamics[citation needed] |
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| Sea/Land Rescue | Allen Herschell & Zamperla |
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| Tiki-Maze | S.D.C.[citation needed] | Formerly known as "Crystal Orbiter", a reference to the fact that the entire building is on a motor-driven rotating platform. The mechanism has been broken for many years and there are no plans to repair it. The rotation controls can be seen in the control booth just to the left of the maze entrance. | |
| Kiddie Canoes | Venture Manufacturing | ||
| Mini-Skooter | Zamperla | Kiddie version of the Dodgems | |
| Vertigo Theatre | Semans Buildings & National Cinemas |
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| Canobie Express | Crown |
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Steam engine, propane-fired. The number on the side of the steam engine, "1902", is the year the park opened.[3] |
| Kiddieland | multiple |
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A small area with rides for children only |
Other rides and attractions
- Castaway Island (added in 2005[9])
- Rock Wall
- Fireworks
- Games and Arcades
- Shows at the Country Stage, Midway Stage and Dancehall Theater
- Music by the Canobie Ramblers at the Log Flume Gazebo
- "Canobie Critters", with names Patches, Molly, Bruno, and Dapper
Retired attractions
| Name | MFG | Year Added | Year Retired | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Trip | SBF |
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Replaced with Boston Harbor Patrol | |
| Bowling alley | After purchasing the park in the 1960s, the owners burned all the pins from the bowling alley to keep warm during their first winter.[3] | ||||
| Calypso | Mack |
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Replaced with the "Moon Orbitor" | ||
| The Canobie Brass | N/A |
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A brass band that played three shows daily on the stage directly across from the entrance to the Yankee Cannonball. Members of the band were students from the University of Lowell College of Music, Berklee College of Music and Boston University. Instrumentation fluctuated somewhat, but the typical ensemble was alto sax/clarinet, tenor sax/flute, trumpet, trombone, electric piano, electric bass and drums. | |
| Canobie Queen | A paddle wheel riverboat that took a 30 minute ride around Canobie Lake | ||||
| Fascination | Replaced with the "Jackpot Casino" | ||||
| Figure 8 roller coaster | |||||
| House of Seven Gables |
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Walk-through haunted house | |||
| Jr. Roller Coaster | |||||
| Kosmojets | SDC | Telecombat, originally purchased from Palisades Amusement Park.[citation needed] Replaced with "Wipeout" | |||
| Matterhorn | SDC |
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Replaced with a concession stand built to look like a giant hotdog | ||
| Moon Orbitor |
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Replaced with the "Star Blaster" | ||
| Paratroopers |
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Originally purchased from Palisades Amusement Park.[citation needed] Replaced with "Skater". | |||
| Petting Zoo | N/A | ||||
| Rockin' Ride |
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Replaced with "Xtreme Frisbee" | |||
| Round Up |
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Replaced with "Zero Gravity" (Round Up) | ||
| Skating rink | Currently used for storage | ||||
| The Swamp | Pretzel |
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Replaced with a building containing midway games | |
| Swimming pool |
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Removed to make room for a newer and larger main entrance | |||
| USA Missile | SBNO as of mid-1990s. The USA Missile is one of a small number of "space simulator" rides built early in the Space Age to a design by John Taggart and Sam Daugherty.[10] Passengers sit facing the nose of the rocket, which is then inclined. A movie is shown on a screen at the front as a crude simulation of space flight.
This ride was originally built for Palisades Park in 1958 by Todd Shipyard in California. It was then known as the "Ansco Rocket Ship".[11] Once it had been moved to Canobie, it was painted white with an American flag motif and renamed to "USA Missile".[12] Some time later, it was repainted again to mimic the markings used on such launch vehicles as the Saturn rockets.[13] Similar rides include Coney Island's Astroland Star Flyer. |
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| The Whip |
Gallery
 The Canobie Corkscrew |
 The Caterpillar |
References
- ^ a b Canobie Lake Park History
- ^ http://www.canobie.com/hours.php
- ^ a b c Seed, Douglas, & Khalife, Katherine (1996). Salem, NH. Volume II - Trolleys, Canobie Lake, and Rockingham Park, Images Of America. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-0438-5.
- ^ "Salem's Canobie Lake Park Has Given 80 Years of Fun", New Hampshire Sunday News (Manchester, NH), June 17, 1990, Colleen Cowette
- ^ s&swebwide2
- ^ a b c "CANOBIE SPECIAL", Boston Globe, April 16, 1989.
- ^ "For your amusement - Region's theme parks have a host of new rides to thrill and chill you", Boston Herald, July 5, 1998, Karyn Miller-Medzon
- ^ a b "More sure signs of spring: Canobie Lake Park opens", New Hampshire Sunday News (Manchester, NH), April 29, 2001
- ^ "Canobie's new Castaway Island water complex opens", Manchester Union Leader, May 26, 2005
- ^ "Coney Island Space Age Icon - will it be destroyed?". Coney Island History Project. http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/news/?p=45. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Palisades Amusement Park - Rides and Attractions". Palisades Amusement Park Historical Society. http://palisadespark.com/rides/rides/anscorocket.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "CanobieFan - Decomissioned Rides". CanobieFan. http://www.canobiefan.com/cgi-bin/pics/pics.cgi?decom. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "USA Missile (Canobie Lake Park)". ThrillNetwork LLC. http://database.thrillnetwork.com/dbgallery/photo_view.php/5520/canobie_lake_park/usa_missile4693.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
See also
External links
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