Community Corner

Share Your Family's Memories, Photos of Old Amusement Parks

Do you know about these defunct summertime destinations: Oakwood Amusement Park in Crafton, White Swan Park in Moon and Southern Park in Carrick?

If you head to a local amusement park today, Kennywood Park is the most likely destination.

Or, if you're adventurous, you might head up north to Conneaut Lake Park near Meadville or out east to Idlewild Park near Ligonier, Del Grosso's Amusement Park in Tipton or Lakemont Park in Altoona.

But there was a time when a number of amusement parks surrounded the Pittsburgh area, including Oakwood Amusement Park in Crafton, White Swan Park in Moon and Southern Park in Carrick.

Here's a list of amusement parks that once were part of the summer scene in western Pennsylvania: 

  • Alameda Park, Butler
  • Burke Glen Park, Monroeville
  • Calhoun Park, Lincoln Place
  • Coney Island, Neville Island
  • Dream City, Wilkinsburg/Penn Hills
  • Harmarville Park, Blawnox
  • Homestead Park, Homestead
  • Junction Park, New Brighton
  • Luna Park, Pittsburgh
  • Maple Grove Park, Pittsburgh
  • Mapleview Park, Canonsburg
  • Oakwood Amusement Park, Crafton
  • Olympia Park, McKeesport
  • Rainbow Gardens, White Oak
  • Southern Park, Carrick
  • West View Park, West View
  • White Swan Park, Moon Township
While some of these parks were long gone before most people alive today were born, some like White Swan, West View, Burke Glen and Rainbow Gardens might have been part of a favorite family tradition, a place for a first date or part of another wonderful memory.

Share your memories in the comments box below. 

Or share old photos of these lost treasures that might have been passed down, found in a box tucked away in your grandmother's attic or forgotten among the pages of a family photo album. Just click on our Boards and upload! If we get enough memories and photos from our Western Pennsylvania Patch site readers, we'll share them in a future article.


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