Wisconsin might be better known as the home state to Harry Houdini and Orson Welles, but it also contains a variety of tourist attractions to entice visitors from across America and the world. One of these attractions is the Bay Beach Amusement Park, a small amusement park near the mouth of the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin. If you're looking for a family outing full of good, solid fun, then Bay Beach Amusement Park will be your ideal holiday destination.
The amusement park has a rich history which stretches back to 1892; in this year, a young entrepreneur called Mitchell Nejedlo, inspired by the areas natural beauty, bought a small strip of land to begin developing the land for a private beach resort which he named Bay View Beach. Though the poor roads at the time made it difficult for him to attract visitors through the often swamp, mosquito-infested land, he worked hard to improve the fledgling resort. Nejedlo built a dance hall, bar and a small bath house; he also planned to sell individual lots on the land as sites for summer cottages. Before long, Nejedlo needed a partner, and in 1902, he teamed up with Captain John Cusick who eventually bought out Nejedlo in 1908.
Cusick continued the expansions that Nejedlo had started, beginning a service that ferried passengers from their dock just south of the Walnut Street Bridge to the new dock at Bay View Beach in a boat that could contain up to 400 people. As swimming became more and more popular at Bay View Beach, Cusick began renting swimsuit for ten cents a piece, a venture which proved incredibly lucrative. From this time onwards, the expansion of Bay Beach was well under way, and only became increasingly successful with time. Bay Beach Amusement Park, as it is now called, rose in popularity as a venue for rallies and concerts; for example, the park's tercentennial celebration saw Franklin D Roosevelt address thousands of residents and visitors to the area.
Today, Bay Beach has a number of attractions including the nearby Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a 700-acre nature reserve where visitors can feed geese, ducks and other small animals. Bay Beach Amusement Park itself houses a number of rides as well; its famous rollercoaster, built in 1901 but dismantled in 1936, has remained an absent feature of the amusement park; but recent exciting plans have come about to erect another roller coaster at Bay Beach.
Bay Beach Amusement Park is a fantastic place to take your family and friends, and there is a variety of comfortable and affordable hotel accommodation in and around the Green Bay area. So, if you're interested in finding a great way to spend some quality time with your family in Wisconsin, choose Bay Beach Amusement Park for a wealth of leisure activities and memorable fun.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
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