The Balboa Fun Zone is a small amusement park located on the Balboa Peninsula in the city of Newport Beach, Orange County, California. However, little is left of the original park.
It was built in 1936 by Al Anderson, who initially leased the land. Mr. Anderson bought the property from the owner in 1948. In 1956 Bob Speth, a former employee, bought the Ferris wheel but sold it back in 1964. Jordan Wank rebuilt the entire park and re-opened it 1986. In 1987, the Australian band INXS filmed their video "Devil Inside" by director Joel Schumacher at various locations at the Fun Zone. In 1988 Doo & Sons owned The Balboa Fun Zone.
In 1994 the Balboa Fun Zone was purchased by former employee Joe Tunstall. The Fun Zone consisted of an arcade and amusement park with shops, restaurants and rides on the Newport Harbor.
While the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round remain as reminders of the park's past, you can also take harbor cruises and enjoy the arcades on the boardwalk. The Ferris wheel is a frequently photographed night landmark on the Balboa Peninsula. The Balboa Fun Zone was purchased in December, 2005 by the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. On September 30, 2006, most of the rides—the Drummer Boy, Bumper Cars, and Scary Dark Ride were closed and have been removed to make room for the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. The carousel is planned to be moved to nearby Westminster in early 2012.
The current Ferris wheel is not the original from 1972, and it is not even in the same location that the original one was in.
On the corner was the original Balboa Beach Company and the Ferris wheel was behind that building in 1972.
Balboa Fun Zone is also the name of OC punk band Adolescents 1988 Album.
Famous quotes containing the words fun and/or zone:
“This is no argument against teaching manners to the young. On the contrary, it is a fine old tradition that ought to be resurrected from its current mothballs and put to work...In fact, children are much more comfortable when they know the guide rules for handling the social amenities. It’s no more fun for a child to be introduced to a strange adult and have no idea what to say or do than it is for a grownup to go to a formal dinner and have no idea what fork to use.”
—Leontine Young (20th century)
“Light is meaningful only in relation to darkness, and truth presupposes error. It is these mingled opposites which people our life, which make it pungent, intoxicating. We only exist in terms of this conflict, in the zone where black and white clash.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)