West View Park - 1977: End of An Era

1977: End of An Era

1977 would become West View Park's swan song. A last attempt to save the park was re-theming the Ride-N-Laff into Davey Jones Locker that year, but it was too late. On September 5, the park ended its 71st season; its patrons not knowing that they were riding their beloved Dips and Racing Whippet coasters for the very last time. Only 3½ weeks later on September 30, the T. M. Harton Company made the official announcement that West View Park would not reopen.

For the next few years, West View Park's dedicated patrons watched sadly as everything was taken down and either sold to other amusement parks or scrapped. The famous Dips roller coaster was one of the last rides to be dismantled.

Since 1981, The West View Park Shopping Center has occupied the old amusement park grounds. The original sign showed a replication of the Dips coaster; this was replaced in 2010 with a new sign with a carousel horse mounted above it. The stretch of land where the Dips coaster stood is now occupied by a Monro car service center, Long John Silver's restaurant, Subway sandwich shop, and a couple of empty buildings. A strip mall, including a K-Mart and Giant Eagle supermarket, were constructed at the back end of the park with Giant Eagle occupying the former site of Racing Whippet coaster.

Although there are no traces of the park left at the site, a few nearby businesses feature old photos, articles and memorabilia from West View Park's past. The West View Isaly's, located 1/8 of a mile north of the park site on Perry Hwy, now owns the bull head skull from the Boot Hill Walk Through attraction as well as a red West View Park directional sign, old chairs, and other articles.