# What is, or was, a "Luna Park"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440 "2014-12-29T15:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/1 "2014-12-29T15:12:05Z")
I know that one of the mainstays of Coney Island was “Luna Park,” which may or may not still exist in a much-dwindled form. The list of abandoned theme parks in a recent thread showed that the name was very popular in the US and Europe, with around a dozen “Luna Parks” on that list alone, mostly dating from the early part of the 20th. (Who knows how many might have evolved and been renamed and still be in operation?) It’s especially peculiar in that it crosses major language barriers - English, French, Scandinavian languages, others. So… what or why or how or who “Luna Park”? Was it a trade name or a consortium? Was it tied to some long-forgotten fad? Is it tied to the idea of “lunacy” as silly fun? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/2 "2014-12-29T15:23:35Z")
[Fredereick Ingersoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Ingersoll) opened 44 amusement parks named “Luna Park” around the world. The first, however, was Luna Park at Coney Island, opened by [Charles I. D. Looff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff) in 1903. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/3 "2014-12-29T15:37:27Z")
And the Dope fails again… fails, I tell you! \*Eleven minutes \*to get an authoritative answer? Huh. This place is going to the dogz… 🙂 Thanks. I figured it had to be something like that but my brief searches turned up only disconnected fragments. I’d be interested in further discussion of the name, theme and history of the parks, if anyone’s got info on tap. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/4 "2014-12-29T15:47:00Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I know that one of the mainstays of Coney Island was “Luna Park,” which may or may not still exist in a much-dwindled form. ? The original Luna Park pretty much burnt to the ground in 1944. In 2010, a new Coney Island amusement park was opened, on the site of the former Astroland, which is also called Luna Park and is modeled slightly on the original. They currently operate the Cyclone, which has been open continuously since 1927 (which occasional refurbishment). As to the name, Luna Park’s creators, Frederic Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy, created a wildly successful ride called “A Trip To The Moon”, a part of the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 at Buffalo, New York. The spacecraft in that ride was called “Luna”(also the name of Dundy’s sister) and they seemed to have named their amusement park after the ride, a version of which they installed at Coney Island. > **[A Trip to the Moon (attraction)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Trip_to_the_Moon_(attraction))** > > A Trip to the Moon was a pioneering early dark ride, best known as the flagship and namesake of Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. > A Trip to the Moon was originally designed by Frederic Thompson for the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York. Tickets for the popular ride were US$0.50 ($18.00 in 2023 dollars) at the time, twice the price of other attractions at the exposition. It was experienced by over 400,000 people before it closed on November 2, 1901. It was the... ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/5 "2014-12-29T15:58:39Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Fredereick Ingersoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Ingersoll) opened 44 amusement parks named “Luna Park” around the world. The first, however, was Luna Park at Coney Island, opened by [Charles I. D. Looff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff) in 1903. To be clear, Looff never operated Luna Park Coney Island. He did later operate a Luna Park in Seattle. I believe he designed some of the more famous rides and, of course, the Carousel. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/6 "2014-12-29T16:23:12Z")
There was one [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park,_Cleveland) until 1929. My mother and her siblings went there a lot when they were kids. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/7 "2014-12-29T16:31:52Z")
In the early days of amusement parks, “borrowing” names was not all that uncommon. You had a Coney Island in Ohio (and still may depending on your exact definition) and more White Citys than you could shake a stick at. A park as a place for rides, as opposed to parks as simply a picnic place, was a new concept and using a common sort of name let people know what to expect. If you roam around the National Amusement Park Historical Association > **[NAPHA - National Amusement Park Historical Association \> Home](https://www.napha.org/)** > > The National Amusement Park Historical Association is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, documentation, and enjoyment of the amusement and theme park industry - past, present and future. NAPHA is the Worlds' Only educational... you may find more info or track down long-time NAPHA and ACE member Jim Futrell. He’s forgotten more dope on early amusement parks than most experts have ever known. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/8 "2014-12-29T16:33:25Z")
A full account of [Coney Island - Luna Park](http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/lunapark.htm). Excerpt: > [@](#): > > The voyagers entered the building’s sumptuous lobby and to the craft’s dock which was fitted like a railroad station’s waiting room. From there they could glimpse “Luna,” a brilliantly lit green and white cigar-shaped craft, lying quietly in the moonlight. It was the size of a small lake steamer with colossal red canvas bat-like wings outstretched above a large cabin set in the middle. Thirty passengers came aboard the companionway onto its deck where they were seated in steamer chairs or could stand and lean on the rail. > > A gong sounded. “Luna’s” huge wings began to beat the air with slow strokes, and the ship’s deck, balanced on gimbaled bearings began to undulate. Then there was a rush of wind as the ship, straining on its heavy cables, appeared to rise into the air. The painted views of the Exposition grounds began to drop and was replaced by thousands of blinking lights of the city below. As it soared higher into space, they could see the Earth as a globe that rapidly diminished in size. Although the scenery was painted on movable canvas, it was an effective illusion of soaring off into space. > > Suddenly everything darkened almost to complete darkness. Lightning flashed across the sky, thunder rolled and there was a fierce rain on the awning overhead. “We are passing through a storm,” shouted the captain, “we are quite safe.” After the rain slackened and the stars came out, it was morning. > > When the ship finally reached the moon and dropped through a sea of sunlit clouds, it flew past canyons and craters stained red, yellow and green. It then slowed, and veering right, landed in the crater of an extinct volcano. The passengers were met by midget moon men, Selenites, whose backs had rows of long spikes. They sang refrains of “My Sweetheart the Man in the Moon,” then escorted them through stalactite caverns, across chasms spanned by spidery bridges to the underground city of the Moon. There at the entrance of a broad avenue lined with the illuminated foliage of fantastic trees and toad stool growths, were the walls of a castle beyond a moat. They were led to the throne room where there were seats for the Earth visitors. Bronze griffins flanked the sides where the “Man in the Moon,” a giant, sat on his splendid throne. On the stage in front was the Geisler electric fountain that displayed all the colors of the spectrum through its cascading water pulsing in a rhythmic dance. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/9 "2014-12-29T16:40:18Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Fredereick Ingersoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Ingersoll) opened 44 amusement parks named “Luna Park” around the world. The first, however, was Luna Park at Coney Island, opened by [Charles I. D. Looff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff) in 1903. Thank you so much for this! My mom always talked about [my hometown’s Luna Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park,_Charleston), and I never knew its history. We had a metal park bench in our back yard that came from Luna Park after its demise. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/10 "2014-12-29T16:44:14Z")
Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle in the 1917 silent in Luna Park, _Coney Island_, including night scenes at the Park. [Full movie on YouTube.](http://youtu.be/mn1KJyzfg80) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/11 "2014-12-29T16:48:46Z")
All fascinating. Snark aside, this board is a [del]unbelievable[/del] fantastic resource - brainpower on tap. I knew about the 1901 ride and it makes sense that it was the nucleus of the idea and “chain.” All I know about Looff is that I once truly lusted for an original such carousel horse… I discovered them right before collectors drove the prices through, well, the moon. Had a chance to buy a beautiful, unrestored but lovingly worn leaper for a longish song… and by the time I decided to do it, prices had shot to the Full Ring Cycle level. ETA: My… that’s quite a pun, there. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/12 "2014-12-29T17:27:22Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Fredereick Ingersoll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Ingersoll) opened 44 amusement parks named “Luna Park” around the world. The first, however, was Luna Park at Coney Island, opened by [Charles I. D. Looff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff) in 1903. One was in San Jose until 1921, for some reason they named a neighborhood after it- after it had been gone for decades. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/13 "2014-12-29T20:21:35Z")
When I collected baseball memorabilia I bought an item that is about the size of a sheet of paper in the shape of a baseball mitt. On one side it says “Thompson & Dundy’s Luna Park…Where the Crowds Go…Where the Fun Abounds” On the other is a composite of portraits of a baseball team referred to as Chicago No. 16 including 13 players in uniform a Pres., a Scty, and a Treas. I wasn’t ever able to identify any of the players by name. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/14 "2014-12-29T21:48:24Z")
I walk past [Luna Park](http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.weekendnotes.com%2Fim%2F007%2F05%2Fluna-park-kids-holiday-fun-adventure-sydney-harbou11.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.weekendnotes.com%2Fluna-park-sydney%2F&h=960&w=1280&tbnid=fcqcOCQ7wIEESM%3A&zoom=1&docid=bYTw0i83R3j0GM&ei=lsuhVM7IN4bamAX36oGwCg&tbm=isch&ved=0CI4BEDMoTzBP&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=293&page=3&start=71&ndsp=42) in Sydney every day. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-or-was-a-luna-park/708440/15 "2014-12-30T03:09:01Z")
I visited [Luna Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park,_Melbourne) when I was in Melbourne. Unfortunately the [Great Scenic Railway](http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/scenic-railway_lunapark) was closed for repairs that day.