# Touristy things you went to that don't exist any more **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073 "2026-05-14T17:32:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/261 "2026-05-22T18:15:07Z")
The [Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers-Dale_Evans_Museum) has gone extinct twice. I visited the one in Victorville, it was a expansive collection of personal memorabilia and western ephemera. After Roy passed it most of the collection moved to a new museum Branson and lasted until 2009. Some of the artifacts can still be seen on display at the Autry Museum in LA. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/262 "2026-05-22T18:20:44Z")
I visited the Kingdome in Seattle a few times…before it blowed up real good! In fact, I was on a special excursion ferry just offshore to watch it all happen. [Kingdome Implosion HD | Seattle Seahawks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt2ekbkDVv4) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/263 "2026-05-22T19:15:43Z")
In 1984 we had a class trip to Great Adventure. I went into the Haunted Mansion but the experience was ruined by my father’s voice in my head. He was always noting exits and how safe a place was. I had the thought that it was a firetrap and not very safe. A few days later it burned down killing 8 teenagers. Pier 84 was a great outdoor space to see concerts in between the Intrepid and the Circle Line pier. I saw Stevie Ray Vaughn play there several years in a row. They turned it into a park. Carter’s Grove Plantation was a historical property owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. While visiting the are we went there on a whim. It was a beautiful piece of property on the James River. They had one area which portrayed its time as a plantation including slave quarters and docents explaining the history. The house had been renovated in the early 20th century so they couldn’t bring it back to is historic roots. It was instead set up as it looked in the 1930s. The owner was a friend of FDR. On the property near the river was the site of a very early colonial settlement which was wiped out by an attack of local tribes in 1622. You could walk the site and there was an extremely well done museum dedicated to the settlement and the archaeological dig. It was a very enjoyable side trip in the area. The Foundation decided to get rid of it and it’s now in private hands. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > There will be a mention in the Hall Of Fame to any Dopers that visited New Jersey’s Action Park. 😄 I was there. I didn’t leave in an ambulance or hearse but my neck has never been the same. I hurt it on the Tarzan swing which other than the unsupervised, untrained, teenage lifeguard was probably one of the safer attractions. > [@Smapti](#): > > They’re building a baseball park for the A’s where the Tropicana used to be. My last time in Vegas we got tickets to a comedy show at the Tropicana. Some really good comics playing to a handful of people. The casino was sad. The whole place felt run down. Great location for a ballpark. When they start playing I will be going to catch a game there. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/264 "2026-05-23T03:06:17Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Great location for a ballpark. When they start playing I will be going to catch a game there. Last year our room at MGM had a view of the construction going on at the old Trop site. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/265 "2026-05-23T11:56:47Z")
The site of the former Trop will be a beastly location for a ballpark in terms of game traffic entering parking lots or worse yet leaving. I see there’s construction ongoing to improve the Tropicana Blvd & I-15 overpass and on & off ramps. Which will help. Some. The fact any traffic leaving the park going to I-15 or points west also needs to cross the signalled intersection of Tropicana and the Strip is especially awkward. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/266 "2026-05-23T18:44:16Z")
Sounds like a job for the Boring Company 🤔🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/267 "2026-05-23T21:22:54Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The [Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rogers-Dale_Evans_Museum) has gone extinct twice. I visited the one in Victorville, it was a expansive collection of personal memorabilia and western ephemera. I’ve been there (the Victorville version). I recall only Stuffed Trigger, but then I was never a huge Roy Rogers fan. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > There are still a few operating camera obscuras (obscurae?)🙂 Walt Disney World had one for a few years, at the Magic Kingdom (in the Main Street building that houses a restaurant and also varying exhibits over the years). I always stopped to look at it. Sadly, it fell victim to WDW Rule #1: cool stuff always gets removed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/268 "2026-05-23T21:35:18Z")
Other than the train, I’ve never been to one of the non-shop attractions at main street usa in the magic kingdom, because it’s never clear to me what they’re supposed to be. I am nostalgic though for the independent coffee/pastry store toward the end of it at the right hand side, which is now a chain coffee shop which is so generic that I can’t remember which one it is. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/269 "2026-05-23T22:27:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The site of the former Trop will be a beastly location for a ballpark in terms of game traffic entering parking lots or worse yet leaving. > > I see there’s construction ongoing to improve the Tropicana Blvd & I-15 overpass and on & off ramps. Which will help. Some. > > The fact any traffic leaving the park going to I-15 or points west also needs to cross the signalled intersection of Tropicana and the Strip is especially awkward. Worse than where the hockey team plays? It’s great if you are staying in one of the nearby hotels. Maybe not so great if you’re a local. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/270 "2026-05-24T00:02:10Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > There was one of the same size at Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania. Apparently a popular idea. This one is at Oakland’s Fairyland on Lake Merritt. > **[Google Image Result for...](https://www.google.com/share.google?q=ngMzRlgq2XTKTuexO)** ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/271 "2026-05-24T00:56:21Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sadly, it fell victim to WDW Rule #1: cool stuff always gets removed Fortunately, In Disneyland, and it has been touched by Walt- hardly ever. But sometimes it is the fans fault. Pecos Bill’s burger place had an extensive “fix’ns” bar, with cheese, chili sauce, everything. And of course people took advantage of it, making a meal out of the bar. So with Covid as an excuse- it went away (mostly). ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/272 "2026-05-24T01:36:10Z")
I think this sorta kinda counts – many years ago I had lunch at the **original** Tavern on the Green, an iconic New York City restaurant located in Central Park that opened in 1934 and eventually closed in 2009. It was a major tourist attraction but scorned by some New Yorkers as more of a touristy thing than a really fine restaurant. I don’t know why because it was a very nice lunch in a very pleasant and scenic environment. Maybe it was overpriced, but since I wasn’t paying I have no idea. After its closure, it operated as a public visitor center and gift shop until it was re-opened as a restaurant again in 2014 after major renovations and a change of ownership. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/273 "2026-05-24T03:33:08Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > They’re building a baseball park for the A’s where the Tropicana used to be. Well, at least one Tropicana will be a decent baseball statium. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/274 "2026-05-24T04:05:25Z")
I will forever miss [the 24-hour coin operated Church of Elvis](https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/church-of-elvis/) in Portland. All I have left of this cherished tourist spot is a spectacularly cheap and tacky fridge magnet. It is still (where else?) on my fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/275 "2026-05-24T04:09:31Z")
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour. I finished The Trough, and a large group of us shared The Zoo. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/276 "2026-05-24T12:02:22Z")
“Frontier Town” in the NY Adirondacks. Abandoned for decades. [Frontier Town - A Western Theme Park Abandoned in the Adirondack Mountains](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7zvg_OUnU8) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/277 "2026-05-24T13:09:57Z")
As a child, Chicago’s Kiddieland. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/278 "2026-05-24T14:00:47Z")
Good one! Farrell’s heyday coincided with a lot of Doper’s childhood through young adult years. For those of us fortunate enough to live on the West Coast at least. 😁 I too successfully killed a Trough once. I was in high school, so 15ish. And yes, when anybody in the restaurant ordered a Zoo that was an especial fun event for the crowd. Even if you didn’t get to eat any yourself. I still remember the zany excitement. This **[Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrell's_Ice_Cream_Parlour)** makes for more interesting reading that I expected. It’s a longer and more twisted story than I’d known. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/279 "2026-05-24T14:53:57Z")
Along the defunct ice cream parlour theme, the original Steve’s Ice Cream in Davis Square, Somerville MA introduced the idea of super premium ice cream and mix-ins. It was a destination for lots of folks, with lines often going around the building and down the street. Steve sold the brand in 1977, and it changed owners a few times after expanding and collapsing. [![](https://bomag.o0bc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/06/4-1.jpg) ](https://bomag.o0bc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/06/4-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073/280 "2026-05-24T14:55:18Z")
Was their ice cream worth the rep? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/touristy-things-you-went-to-that-dont-exist-any-more/1030073.md?page=15)