Crystal Beach Amusement Park
| Crystal Beach | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
Pier that once served the Canadiana and Americana boats. View from Crystal Beach Hill.
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| Coordinates: 42°52′3″N 79°3′33″W / 42.86750°N 79.05917°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Regional municipality | Niagara |
| Town | Fort Erie |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Forward sortation area | L0S 1B0 |
| Area code(s) | 905 / 289 / 365 |
| NTS Map | 030L14 |
| GNBC Code | FAUTT |
Crystal Beach is a community within Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada with a population of 3,800. It was named for the "crystal-clear" water conditions present when it was founded on the northeast shore of Lake Erie, across from Buffalo.
Crystal Beach Amusement Park occupied waterfront land within Crystal Beach from 1888 until the park's closure in 1989. The property was once a health spa whose buildings were sited near and on a natural sand dune fifty feet high and 1,200 feet long parallel to the shore. Part of the dune was excavated to open up land for the spa. In 1888, the spa was replaced by the amusement park, which has since itself been replaced by Crystal Beach Tennis & Yacht Club, a gated community.
This settlement started as a police village with a summer post office in 1898; an year round post office opened in 1908. The village was incorporated in 1928, with a population of 298. In 1970, the village was absorbed by Fort Erie, Ontario under the regional government scheme.
At first, Crystal Beach Park was a religious retreat with a beach and "side-show" attractions started by John E. Rebstock in 1888. By 1890, he had decided to turn it into an amusement park. By then, steamboats shuttled patrons from nearby Buffalo, New York to and from the park. At its peak in the 1940s and early 1950s, the park had about 20,000 visitors daily throughout the summer, from Victoria Day through Labour Day.
Boat service connected Buffalo with the park until 1956. Initially, in the 1890s, a ferry service operated small boats, with a capacity of 500 to 1200. Later, he main passenger vessels used for these journeys were the Canadiana and, until 1929, the Americana, each of which could carry 3,000 passengers per trip. In 1896, the Ontario Southern Railway began to provide connection between the park and the mainline rail station at Ridgeway. This service consisted of a unique elevated monorail style train, and ran for only three summers, through 1898.
The owners made significant investments. For example, in 1909, the "Backety-Back Railway" roller coaster, or "Scenic Railway", was installed for $50,000. and in 1910, another was added, the "Giant", at a cost of $35,000. In the late 1920s, the "Cyclone" coaster was built, at a cost said to have been $176,000. A newspaper report from 1948 indicates that the owners spent $165,000 on two new rides, including a new Comet roller coaster that replaced the Cyclone. In the 1950s, the Lusse "Auto Skooter" bumper cars were added at a cost of $50,000. Although attendance was down by then, a half million dollars was spent after a 1974 fire damaged the dance hall and another $250,000 in 1975 to update some facilities.
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