Pictures

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A picture of the Chippewa Lake park midway shows the park just before the summer fun season begins. Many of these buildings have been lost due to rot and fires however a few still remain. I don't have pictures of any of the midway buildings on my site yet. I hope to feature them in a new section soon. Here is the caption that goes with the photo.

Here is a great article that talks about the life and times of Chippewa Lake Park. Use this as a brief history! There is evidence of where the park is headed when it closes its doors some nine to ten years later. Parker Beach talks of the large crowds and good times at Chippewa Lake. Note the mention of the size and land of the lake and park mentioned in the second column. "Amusement parks aren't the glamor business they once were" says Beach. Yet another sign of where the park is headed. The article is a little dark in spots as news articles always seem to be when they are scanned. If there are problems reading it I can try to do a text version of it.

This is the other page of the above article. The top picture gives a clear shot of the ballroom and the Burger Factory. This view is now extremly cluttered by trees and brush. The secoind picture shows miss chippewa docked up near what appears to be the hotel. The hotel was lost in a fire thanks to some neighborhood kids. Today all that stands where the hotel was is some burnt equipment and filing cabnets. The bottome picture is of famous people who had visited Chippewa Lake Park. I think its safe to assume they are long since gone. Hopefully they were taken out and are somewhere now.

How about that coaster. The Fred Pierce out and back still stands at Chippewa Lake today. There is damage and growth, but this thing was built to last. Check out the current pictures of it if you haven't already right HERE in the current pictures section. The coaster used three car trains if I'm not mistaken and was an out and back type with a bit of a different path to the lift hill. It was called both the Big Dipper and Coaster.

Carousel horses stored in what appears to be the Ballroom. The horses now would be worth a fortune. If anyone knows where the ride or horses went off to feel free to email me at Hondasi@hotmail.com. I think I remember someone telling me where they are and now I can't remember. The building that the merry-go-round was housed in is still there. Unfortunately it has collapsed almost completely. There really isn't much else for me to say about the horses. I feel like I need to fill up this space so there isn't too much white.

This is a great picture of the midway area in full effect. Look at the crowds around that tumble bug. Off in the distance to the right you can see the Hambuger Factory (i think) and in the center you can see what I think was an eatery of some sort. There is still a little bit of this building still standing now. Most of it is burnt as is the case with too many of the Chippewa Lake buildings. I don't mean to judge others, but why would anyone ever burn these places down?