Lakeside Amusement Park
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining White City park in the United States. The park, occupying nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels and the 1940 Cyclone roller coaster.
History
Lakeside Park was built by a group led by Denver brewer Adolph Zang, on an approximately 57-acre site located adjacent to Lake Rhoda. Originally known as “Lakeside Park,” “The White City," and "The Coney Island of the West," the park featured the Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical architectural styles favored in many other Exposition-themed amusement parks of the era, and was lit by an estimated 100,000 electric bulbs. It was serviced by a trolley line built by the Denver Tramway, making it a trolley park; however, unlike most trolley parks, Lakeside was independently owned, and included ample space for automobile parking.The park’s original buildings included the 150-foot Tower of Jewels at the park’s main entrance; a three-story casino building featuring a rathskellar, a theater, and dining rooms overlooking the lake; a natatorium; a 15,000 square foot ballroom; a roller skating rink; a boat house with a 160-foot pier; and a miniature train station modeled after Denver's Union Station.
The main entrance led down a wide staircase to a central park area. Rides and attractions were originally grouped at the southern end of the park, with the park's northern section reserved for social activities such as musical performances, ballroom dancing, boating, outdoor swimming and diving at the lake, and roller skating.
Original rides and attractions included the Lakeshore Railroad, a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, an airship and balloon ascension platform, a Third Degree funhouse, the Devil's Palace, a Shoot-the-Chutes, a mile-long Scenic Railway, and the Velvet Coaster. W.H. Labb of Indianapolis designed the Velvet Coaster, intended to be a combination of the Foster coaster at Chicago's White City and a type of figure-8; it featured a 1,200 foot framework situated along the southern end of the lake, with a total of 3,600 feet of track. A ride called The Tickler was installed, but was soon removed after customers received serious injuries, including broken bones.
The Derby Racer—a double-track racing coaster designed by John A. Miller—was added in 1911. The massive ride was built at the northern end of the park, which had previously been designated for social functions only, thus beginning a gradual move away from the park's White City aspirations.
The Scenic Railway and other structures in the southwestern section of the park were destroyed by a fire on November 15, 1911. Another fire in January 1912 destroyed the skating rink and damaged the Derby coaster. The coaster was repaired, while the natatorium was converted into the new roller skating rink; it would not be used for swimming again until 1928.
Following its acquisition by Ben Krasner in 1935, Lakeside underwent a period of major renovations and additions, further distancing the park from its original White City/Exhibition roots. Many new rides were added, including the Cyclone roller coaster, which replaced the Derby Racer in 1940. New buildings and features were built in the Art Deco style, including individual ticket booths for most major rides and attractions. Although most of these booths were of the standalone type, one notable exception was the Cyclone, which had a built-in ticket booth between the entrance and exit ramps. Although ride tickets are now sold at the park’s entrances rather than at each ride, many of the original ticket booths are still in place. Architect Richard L. Crowther designed much of Lakeside's Art Deco and Modern features during this period, and included a great deal of neon lighting in his work.
There are many examples of architectural salvage to be found throughout the park. Inside the main restaurant is a marble and mirror backbar that was saved from the Denver Union Station, one of the picnic pavilions is created from a retired center column of a ride, and the pool for the Skoota Boats ride is an adaptive reuse of the original Shoot-the-Chutes ride. The main office features a functioning manual telephone switchboard that is still in use.reference?
A fire in December 1973 destroyed the pool building, which was then being used for maintenance and off-season storage. Parts and blueprints for many of the park's rides were lost. Lakeside's ballroom, which had hosted thousands of local and national musicians and performers throughout the park's history, closed in 1972 due to declining interest in ballroom dancing. It was deemed a significant fire hazard and was largely demolished in 1974.
Lakeside Speedway
From the late 1930s through 1988, Lakeside Amusement Park operated Lakeside Speedway on the park grounds. The auto racetrack was a oval and featured races of three car classes sponsored by CARC: stock, limited modified and fully modified. The race track was built on the site of the park's original baseball diamond and incorporated the original stands into the new use. Following a fatal accident in 1988, racing at Lakeside came to an end. The track and grandstands are still standing, and are used for storage.Rides
Roller coasters
The Cyclone is the most popular ride at the park. Built in 1940 to replace the Derby Racer coaster, it is an ACE Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark.| Ride | Year opened | Manufacturer | Description |
| The Cyclone | 1940 | Edward A. Vettel | An Ed Vettel-designed shallow wooden coaster. SBNO since June 2022. |
| Wild Chipmunk | 1955 | Miler Manufacturing | A Wild Mouse coaster. |
| Dragon | 1989 | Zamperla | A powered roller coaster. SBNO since 2020. |
| Kiddie Coaster | Miler Manufacturing | A Miler Manufacturing kiddie coaster. | |
| Pinfari Coaster | 2023 | Pinfari | A Zyklon Z64. Manufactured in 1973, installed at Lakeside in 2018. |
Other amusement rides
- Loop-O-Plane
- Satellite
- Hurricane
- Auto Skooters
- Crystal Palace
- Ferris Wheel
- Flying Dutchman
- Heart Flip
- Matterhorn
- Merry-Go-Round
- Lakeshore Railroad
- Round-Up
- Roll-O-Plane
- Rock-O-Plane
- Scrambler
- Skoota Boats
- Spider
- Sports Cars
- Tilt-A-Whirl
- The Whip
- Wild Chipmunk
- Zoom
- Original rides from 1908 still in operation are the merry-go-round and the miniature railroad and train station. The lagoon from the 1908 Shoot-the-Chutes is still in use as the home of the Skoota Boats.
- The Whip, originally installed circa 1916 near the ballroom, was removed in the 1920s; it reopened in its current location in the 1940s, but it is unclear whether the existing ride is the 1916 original or a 1940s replacement. The Staride, also installed circa 1916, has been standing but not operating since the mid 1970s.
- Lakeside's gauge miniature railway train features the steam train locomotives "Puffing Billy" and "Whistling Tom" from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, along with the world's first miniature gauge diesel locomotive, patterned after the California Zephyr. As of 2025, only the diesel locomotive is in service.
- The 1908 carousel was apparently made up from used figures from other carousels. Many of the animals bear characteristic designs of famed woodcarver Charles I. D. Looff. The carousel has also been credited to the C. W. Parker Company, but the Lakeside horses do not have the typical Parker metal horseshoes.
- Lakeside has every type of Eyerly "O-Plane" ride except for one: the "Fly-O-Plane."
- Lakeside's Satellite, installed in 1958, may be the last remaining Kasper Klaus "Satellite Jets" ride in operation. However, the ride's distinctive tilt feature is no longer operative.
Kiddie rides
- Coaster
- Flying Tigers
- Turtles
- Jolly Choo-Choo
- Frog Hopper
- Granny Bug
- Horse & Buggy
- Dry Boats
- Captain Hook
- Sky Fighters
- Midge-o-Racers
- Kiddie Whip
- Motorcycles
- Mini Skater
Former attractions
Defunct rides and attractions include the Shoot-The-Chutes, the Scenic Railway, the Velvet Coaster, the Derby Racer coaster, a Coney Island Tickler, Octopus, Double-Whirl, Lindy Loop, Circle Swing, a Tumble Bug, Sky Slide, a miniature golf course, Paratrooper, Flight to Mars, and Starship 2000.The remains of the Staride, a Ferris wheel-type ride installed circa 1916 but inoperative since the mid 1970s, stand north of the merry-go-round. A Rocket Ships ride was removed in 1982 after damage during an inspection, but the base and tower still stand and are used as a concession/carnival game stand. The pier for a Speed Boats attraction stands vacant, fenced off to prevent access.
From the mid 1940s through 1985, Lakeside's Funhouse featured an animated mannequin, Laffing Sal, whose loud laughter echoed through the park and surrounding neighborhood. The attraction featured slides, moving floors, spinning discs, rolling barrels, and catwalks. Due to rising liability and operational costs, the Funhouse was demolished in 1985; the Dragon coaster was installed in its place.
The 1908 tower and casino building still stand, but are closed to the public and are used for storage and park offices. Also still standing but closed to the public is the Riviera cocktail lounge, the lone remnant of the park's original ballroom building.
Media references
- Lakeside is featured in the animated series "Thundarr the Barbarian".
- Lakeside is one of several parks featured in the 1999 public television program Great Old Amusement Parks.
- Lakeside Amusement Park shares its name with a setting included in the video games Silent Hill & Silent Hill 3 by Konami.
- Scenes from the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead were also shot inside of the park.
- Featured in a Westword Profile: "After 110 Years of Ups and Downs, a New Coaster Could Take Lakeside to New Heights."
- Lakeside is the basis of the fictional location, "Lakefront Expo" a.k.a., "The Hole" in Fortnight, a murder mystery about serial murders in Denver, Colorado set in 2034.