But did you know that for several years in the 1950s that was a tiny amusement park on the western outskirts of Huron? It was called Huron Kiddieland and the small ad for it shown above, which ran in the Lorain Journal on September 2, 1959 was the first I’d heard of it. It was located on what today would be considered the old 6&2 route out of town before the bypass was built.
Of course, Huron Kiddieland was just a small, neighborhood-type park compared to its gigantic competitors. But it probably brought just as much pleasure as the big parks to those families who spent a day enjoying the rides and ambiance.
The park was the brainchild of Harry Suhren. According to the article below, which appeared in the Sandusky Register on May 20, 1954, shortly before the park opened, Suhren “had long operated rides at fairs throughout the neighboring states, retired two years ago but found that doing nothing was not for him. Then and there, he decided on the Kiddieland.”
Here is another publicity item and ad from when the park opened. They both ran in the Register on June 11, 1954.
Here are some more ads from the Register between 1955 and 1956.
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| May 6, 1955 ad |
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| July 1, 1955 ad |
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| August 10, 1956 ad |
Harry Suhren passed away in July 1957.
However, the park continued on for several more years.
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| July 7, 1959 ad from the Register |
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| July 11, 1959 ad from the Register |
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| July 24, 1959 ad from the Register |
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| August 10, 1960 ad |
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| Sept. 3, 1960 ad |
After the 1960 season, it appeared that Kiddieland was going to be sold to a church.
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| From the Sandusky Register of Nov. 26, 1960 |
But the deal apparently fell through. The park was finally sold in 1962.
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| From the Register of March 9, 1962 |
Here’s a list of the rides as described in an ad from when the property was listed for sale.
Today the former Kiddieland property is the location of an apartment and townhouse complex, on the south side of the street opposite the shopping center on Cleveland Road West.
My family was from the east side of Cleveland - both branches lived within a few blocks of Euclid Beach Park, so that was always our first-choice amusement park. But we did motor out to Cedar Point (and all other nearby parks), and I remember seeing but not visiting Crystal Beach. I have no recollection of Huron Kiddieland, although I am sure we passed it in our travels.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, free admission and free parking were the standards at Euclid Beach as well. You bought ride tickets once inside.
I guess I'm the only reader that went there! My dad was a State Farm agent and the annual company picnics were often at Cedar Point. Back then Cedar Point was more of a picnic grounds with rides and we tended to do more socializing and playing baseball then going on the coasters. We could usually talk dad into stopping at Kiddieland on the way home. I was ten in 1956 and my brothers and sisters were younger so the little rides were great for our family. I'll email you an article about the closing. Dennis
ReplyDeleteThanks to this post, a park and roller coaster that had been missing from the Roller Coaster Database now have entries: https://rcdb.com/17777.htm Thanks for your research, Dan!
ReplyDeleteMy next curiosity is where that Herschell Little Dipper ended up. Between Schmid and Merr, my guess is Merr (an operator of rides and games at New York's Coney Island) would be the more likely buyer, but I haven't found much information on what specific rides he owned.
HI Bryan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comment. I was hoping that someone who might be interested in a listing of the rides would eventually find it here. It’s a quest similar to that of fans of retired interurban cars and/or old diners who do the detective work to see where they ended up decades later.