1958 Stanton 1987

Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific,' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987, 176 pp., 1960s

Chapter 8: Pacific Ocean Park (1958-1967)

[Page 147 photo Neptune's Courtyard entrance to POP]

     "In 1956 CBS and the Los Angeles Turf Club [who also developed Lake Arrowhead} were granted the lease on the Ocean Park Pier and they proposed to build a $10,000,000 nautical theme park to compete with Disneyland. They closed the [Ocean Park] pier after Labor Day, hired the best amusement park designers and Hollywood special effects experts they could find and began to design innovative new attractions for the theme park. In all 80 special effects men, scenic designers and artists worked for more than a year on the project. They like Disney, found corporate sponsors to share the expenses of some of the exhibitions. To save money they renovated existing buildings and incorporated six of the old attractions into the layout; the merry-go-round, roller coaster, Toonerville Fun House, Glass House, twin diving bells and Strat-O-Liner ride. They called the new park Pacific Ocean Park.

     "The 28 acre park was decorated throughout in a sea-green and white moderne look, an evocation of the ocean itself. Its entrance set amidst fountains, sculptures and large sea horse and clam shell decorated frieze, set the mood of the wonders within. The ticket booth in Neptune's Courtyard was set under a six-legged concrete starfish canopy; plastic bubbles and sea horses adorned its top. All day admission was ninety cents for adults, less for children. This included access to the park, Neptune's Kingdom, the Sea Circus and the Westinghouse Enchanted Forest exhibit. Other rides and attractions were at additional costs.

     "Opening day on Saturday July 28, 1958 drew 20,000 curious people and dozens of Hollywood celebrities. Sunday's 37,262 paying customers brought traffic jams to the area. During its first six days it out performed Disneyland in attracting customers.

     "Visitors entered the park through Neptune's Kingdom where they took a submarine elevator down to the suboceanic corridors below. Water filling the elevator's clear central tube gave the illusion of descending beneath the sea. Across from the elevator was an enormous sea tank set in the corridor wall. It was partitioned so that it appeared the shark and prey cohabited the same tank. Beyond and covering one entire wall along the corridor was a large diorama filled . . . " p. 147

[p.148 schematic of POP-1959; p.149 aerial view of POP, 1963]

[p.150 Ocean Skyway bubble cars; p. 151 Local beauty queen]

     "with creatures that couldn't live in captivity. Motorized artificial turtles, manta rays, sawfish, and sharks glided by over coral reef and hanging seaweed. In the distance, barely visible in the glimmering light was Neptune with his scepter in hand sitting on his throne. The display was a masterpiece of special effects, a convincing illusion of waterless liquid space presented by your Coca Cola bottler.

     "Next door was Westinghouse's free Enchanted Forest and Nautilus Submarine exhibit. They had a 150 foot model, atomic reactor section of the famous atomic sub. Nearby was a room full of electronic appliances and gadgets for the House of Tomorrow. A modular house was put together by machinery as part of the show.

     "The main feature of the Sea Circus area was the performing seal and dolphin shows. Two thousand people could watch the shows several times daily in the large amphitheater. Afterwards they could feed the seals in the Seal Pool.

     "The twin Diving Bells nearby offered excursions beneath the surface of a large salt water tank. As one of the bells was loaded with passengers, the other was slowly pulled below the surface by hydraulic pistons. Those inside peered out of the small portholes in search of fish. Water seeping through the bell's riveted metal seams reminded one of the tremendous pressure outside., Then there was a sudden rush upwards, and the ride was over as the diving bell popped explosively to the surface. The two long lines of people, nervously awaiting their turn, were splashed by the sudden surge of water.

     "The Ocean Skyway entrance was but a few steps away. Here passengers could board bubble gondolas for a six minute, half mile ride that would take them 75 feet above the Pacific. It offered panoramic views of the bay, Santa Monica Mountains, and the park. As it reached its turn-around point near the Mystery Island's volcanic peak, it offered a tantalizing preview of the Banana Train ride.

     "Union 76's miniature Ocean Highway gave drivers a choice of futuristic styled model cars. The long, nearly oval course was built like a causeway directly over the ocean. Other rides in that section of the park included a Ferris wheel and a tilted aerial stye ride called the Paratrooper. Its two passenger seats suspended from parachute canopies swung outwards as the ride gained speed.

     "On the other side of Neptune's Kingdom was a unique attraction called Flight to Mars. The inside lobby was decorated with a mural featuring a barren Martian . . . " p.151

[p. 152 photo Union 76 Ocean Highway]

[p. 153 POP's main midway]

     " . . . landscape. Space travelers entered a round tiered spaceship-like theater with a column bank of television screen set in the floor's center. The door sealed and the seats reclined back as the ship prepared for flight. The whole theater and the individual seats shook during takeoff, while views of Earth receding in the distance were projected on the television monitors. A few minutes later the ship approached Mars and passengers prepared for a landing and were made to feel like they were slowly descending. The whole theater was built like an elevator so when passengers exited they stood before a vast diorama of the red planet and its green alien creatures. Visitors were magically returned to Earth by entering a mirrored black-light teleport chamber at the exit door.

     "Across the main midway was the Flying Carpet ride, a fantasy excursion into the Tales of the Arabian Nights. Passengers boarded vehicles resembling large flying carpets that were suspended from above on tracks. The cars soared high into the air above the city lights below, past lofty mountains painted in the walls, and far away to the Sinbad's Bagdad where Arabian palace spires soared skyward. Below was a giant genie coming out of Ali Baba's lamp, and other characters from the old tales and legends. To attract customers they hired a giant 7'4" tall man whose Arabian Nights costume and large turban made him look gigantic.

     "The Mirror Maze in the next building was a standard Fun House style attraction. The building's transparent facade revealed dozens of reflected images of each of the people inside the labyrinth. One had to first find a path through a glass maze to get to the area where the floors moved. Barrels turned, and rooms slanted, daring one to stand up straight. Then it was back into another maze of glass and mirrors to find a way out.

     "Davy Jones Locker further along the midway was a much more interesting Fun House with a nautical theme. The revamped Toonerville Fun House was a walk thru with tunnels decorated with fake underwater paraphernalia including divers in old helmets. It had a crooked room, two slides with a bump in the center and dozens of distorted mirrors. Customers had to squeeze through giant upright padded rollers to exit. Teenagers liked the attraction because it was mostly dark, inside.

     "Almost across from it was the Flying Dutchman, a 'dark' ride on tracks. Treasure chest styled cars passed through the hull of an old Spanish galleon where it narrowly missed upsetting a stack of rum barrels. Inside behind bars were prisoners crying to get out, and further on skeletons of those who were imprisoned far . . . " p. 152

[p. 154 Diving Bells]

[p. 155 Space Wheels, twin double Ferris wheels]

     "too long. Threatening pirates gathered in one cabin to argue over their treasure. The overflowing treasure chest nearby had gold doubloons and jewels spilling out.

     "The Deepest Deep was a smaller 'dark' ride that gave the illusion of exploring the sea in a two-man submersible. People would ride in a tracked car with a plastic bubble dome past fake looking underwater scenes. A hydraulic piston raised, lowered and turned the cars as they passed different scenes like mermaids and treasure chests. The ride was cheaply done and had endless mechanical problems that kept it closed much of the time.

     "Round the World in 80 Turns took one for a tour of France, England, Germany, Turkey, China and Japan. The tub-like cars would whip sharply to the left and right to change scenes. Due to constant complaints of nausea and neck pains it was closed midway through the second season.

     "Fun seekers could try hunting for big game on the Safari Ride. Tracked jeeps equipped with electronic rifles wound its way through African jungle. Lion prides fought over a recent kill and an occasional rhino would charge the jeep. The man-made plywood cutout animals were slightly animated.

     "There were plenty of old fashined thrill rides along the Ports o' POP midway. Foremost was the Sea Serpent roller coaster. It was from the old pier but was now painted in an array of gaudy colors. The Whirl Pool was a huge centrifuge that pinned customers to the wall, then the floor dropped out. Another centrifuge ride called the Shell Spin slowly tilted until riders were being spun vertically. The old Stat-o-liner ride was now called Mr. Dolphin, and the Flying fish was merely a 'wild mouse' coaster with cars decorated to look like fish. Nearby were Octopus and Mrs. Squid rides. The latter was a flat 'Scrambler' style ride whose cars would swing back and forth across the platform. They spun and appeared to narrowly miss each other as they crossed each other.

     "The park's best ride was the Mystery Island Banana Train Ride at the end of the pier. Eight giant totem poles and two outrigger canoes formed the entrance to the area. Explorers crossed a suspension bridge above a 9000 gallon per minute waterfall to an authentic Polynesian stilt house where they boarded the U.S. Rubber train. The train, like those of tropical banana plantation trains, was pushed by the locomotive.

     "The excursion carried one through a tropical paradise of palms, bamboo, and banana trees, past coconut throwing monkeys and into two back to back counter- . . . " p. 154

[p. 156 The Sea Serpent]

[p.157 Safari and mirrors]

[p. 158 The Sea Tub]

[p. 159 POP main midway]

[p. 160 Whirl Pool and Shell Spin]

[p. 161 Mr. Dolphin]

     "Rotating tunnels that simulated an earthquake. The tunnels led to inside the heart of an erupting volcano where the train circled the bubbling volcanic crater. Once the passengers passed through the spider caves, the train's precarious tracks suddenly emerged on a suspension bridge over real ocean surf below. Before the startled passengers realized it, the train just as suddenly reentered the mountain into a large room where geysers erupted. Finally it passed through a tropical rain storm complete with lightning and through the jungle to the passenger loading station. Then as the ride came to an end a friendly gooney bird shrieked, "Hope you enjoyed your trip!"

     "The park had two dining and shopping areas. Inside the park was a recreation of a New England harbor called Fisherman's Cove. Outside along Ocean Front Walk was the International Promenade offering superb cuisine in authentic foreign restaurants, as well as exotic souvenirs, gifts and imports in the various shops.

     "Apparently many people enjoyed Pacific Ocean Park, for by the time it closed for construction and remodeling on January 5, 1959, it had attracted 1,190,000 visitors. Management decided to add four new attractions at a cost of nearly $2,000,000.

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 Kelyn Roberts 2017