[Rarebooks] FS: Philadelphia's Fairyland: "Life Is A Lark at Willow Grove Park"

[Bob Petrilla]

Willow Grove Park. WILLOW GROVE PARK -- Philadelphia's Fairyland: Season
1906. Willow Grove, PA: Willow Grove Park, 1906. First Edition. 48pp; illus
throughout from photographs, including a centerfold panoramic view around
the lake. 5" x 8" Very Good. Pictorial Paper Covers.
The Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) built Willow Grove Park in 1896 as a
way of encouraging folks to ride the trolley from Philadelphia to the end
of the line on weekends. Victorian-era amusements included: the orchestras
of Arthur Pryor, Victor Herbert, John Philip Sousa and others; a casino; a
lake with lighted fountain; athletic fields; ferris wheel; boating on the
lake; mountain scenic railway (a roller-coaster venue built of wood and
canvas, later called The Alps); soda fountain; candyland; mirror-maze;
picnics; women's building; two carousels; springs; orange-juice booth;
Willowgraph Theater; photograph building; captive flying machine; electric
launch; lakeside cafe; coal mine and breaker; etc. Visitors in the photos
are seen wearing floor-length skirts, straw skimmers, and walking sticks.
By the early1950s, Willow Grove was a favorite destination for teenagers
eager to hear a new band called Bill Haley and the Comets.  [WorldCat
locates only the New York Botanical Garden holding of this booklet.
Picture by request.]  $150.00


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R & A  Petrilla, Booksellers   PO Box 306   Roosevelt, NJ 08555   (609)
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