Comments on: Fort George Amusement Park

By: wes gottlock

wes gottlock — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:31:46 +0000

In our book Lost Amusement Parks of the Hudson Valley, we devote a chapter to the Ft. George Amusement Area. A few things were hard to clear up and remain a mystery. One was the deliniation of the street numbers back then. We have the Curve Music Hall listed at 197th St. and Ft. George Avenue but we have yet to see a vintage map indicating such a street. And Richard’s research (well done!) into the carousel that survived the great Ft. George fire is correct. It was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for Ft. George in 1908 (the PTC #18). It is now located in Dee, Oregon where its owners will determine its next “home”. There were three grand carousels at Ft. George and we could not determine exactly where the PTC #15 was located. Its run at the Palisades Pyramid Mall (West Nyack NY) ended in 2009 when its owners could no longer run a profitable venture there.

By: Larry

Larry — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 03:35:04 +0000

I tried searching for 197th street and Amsterdam and it is not on today’s (google) map. Any idea where it would fall?

By: Richard Concepcion

Richard Concepcion — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:15:09 +0000

The PTC carousel that used to turn at Wendel’s Park in Fort George still exists and has been back and forth across the country several times over the past century, most recently back in the NYC area during the mid 1990′s to mid 2000′s when it spun at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack NY, Rockland County. After its stint at Wendel’s, the carousel went on to Dandellion Park in Muskego WI, Expo ’86 in Vancouver BC Canada, and Puente Hills Mall in Industry CA. It’s currently in storage and for sale or lease in Oregon.

By: Genie Schubert

Genie Schubert — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:15:07 +0000

My grgrgrandfather Capt. Louis C. Wendel Sr.owned Ft Wendel amusement park & Hotel as well as Ft George’s up until the late 1890′s He had a lot of financial problems at the time which could explain why he let the park go to the Schneck’s . He also owned Von Schuetzens park in Union NJ

By: Larry

Larry — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:43:23 +0000

The amusement park was located on the site of the present George Washington High School. I imagine the site has been pretty well explored through the years, but you never know.
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There must be a lot of history buried beneath that high school. I went to that school in ’59-60 after voluntarily transferring over from the High School of Music & Art (talk about downward mobility!) where I went in ’56-8. That was the first time I ever encountered dope addicts and hypodermic needles lying around. Yep, already back then in ’59. I remember standing around in the basement on graduation day waiting for them to open the doors. I wore black, instead of the usual faded blue, dungarees under my gown as a concession to decorum. All the kids began loudly chanting, “1 2 3 4 open up the f’ing door!”. Yeah, it was a classy joint even back then. Must be a lot of good stuff underneath it though. They oughta bust it down and find out.

By: Bill Israel

Bill Israel — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:39:58 +0000

I grew up in the Dyckman Houses housing projects and went to GWHS. As a child, it was a great thrill to wander the woods of Ft. George and, if anyone has ever done so, you would find several foundations, of which we never knew what existed there. Obviously, these were the remnants of the amusement park, hotel, all the entertainment facilities that existed at the turn of the 20th century, but, by the 1960s, were just overgrown broken pieces of foundations that children rummaged through. You can imagine what a child could conjure up in his mind as to what those ruins were.

By: Cole Thompson

Cole Thompson — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:49:50 +0000

The amusement park was located on the site of the present George Washington High School. I imagine the site has been pretty well explored through the years, but you never know. The Dyckman farmhouse has a relic room in the basement. I understand they have a trove of other neighborhood artifacts they are processing for future display.

By: History buff

History buff — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:37:52 +0000

Was this amusment park located across the street from the current George Washington High School? Do you think there would be any remains or artifacts of when the park was there. Like say if you dig in the dirt and find a foundation or something. Or has anyone tried this? I love to see things that remained from the past.