Return to Crystal Beach
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Community Room of Tonawanda City Hall
200 Niagara Street
Presented by Rose Ann Hirsch

For 101 years Crystal Beach Park was a magical place for generations of Western New Yorkers. Return to Crystal Beach Park through a slideshow collection of photographs and postcards from the park’s beginning in 1888 to its final year in 1989. Dip your toes in Lake Erie. Scream on the Comet and Giant roller coasters. Shiver in fright in the Laff in the Dark. Ride a painted pony. Walk the wacky halls of the Magic Carpet. Remember the fun one more time.

Rose Ann Hirsch is an amusement park historian and author of three books and numerous articles on the subject including Crystal Beach Park. Growing up in Western New York, she had the opportunity to enjoy Crystal Beach every summer during her family’s day trips to the park. Rose Ann is a writer, artist, and carousel restorer who currently resides in Niagara Falls, NY.
 

Anyone who grew up in the Tonawandas during the post-war era has wonderful memories of Crystal Beach and taking the “Crystal Beach Boat” to get there, often from the dock in the Little Niagara River. This popular image from the Historical Society’s extensive photo archive was initially published in the Society’s second Arcadia Images of America book. It depicts two young boys preparing to embark on the S.S. Canadianna for Crystal Beach. The boy to the left is none other than Robin Schimminger, who grew up to become our NYS Assemblyman. If you don’t own a copy of this book or would like to give one as a gift, both volumes are still available for pickup or by mail order at the museum gift shop.