Euclid Beach Park - Decline and Closure

Decline and Closure

Euclid Beach Park closed forever in September 1969, after the summer season. It was one of many aging parks from another era which closed during the 1960s. The Forest Park Highlands in Missouri burned down in 1963 never to be rebuilt, New Jersey's Olympic Park closed in 1965 due to blight. Riverview Park of Illinois shut down in 1967 due largely to operating and maintenance costs.

Some rides or other attractions were placed in operation at other locations. Many of the Kiddy Rides, such as the Euclid Beach Chief, were sent to Shady Lake Park in Streetsboro, Ohio.

• The Great American Racing Derby, a ride which simulated a horse race, still operates today as Cedar Downs Racing Derby at Cedar Point in Sandusky.
• Laughing Sal, the robotic nightmare that greeted patrons of the Surprise House, still haunts Cleveland, and is rented for many occasions such as parades and Home Days in some suburbs.

Many structures still standing on the Euclid Beach site after its closing, including the famous dance hall, were destroyed in a series of arson fires. The suspects were never apprehended. By 1986, most of the park was gone, though some remnants of the park are still visible to this day. The original shoreline walkway is still at the beach, the concrete pier which was made with a patented Humphrey concrete-pouring process is also standing at its original location and a number of other artifacts can still be seen there. This process was also used in constructing the trailer park wall, which is still standing. The wall runs along Lakeshore Boulevard.

A few original guy-wire remnants attached to the sycamore trees remain along with the loading platform for the Antique Cars, the anchor post for the Thriller coaster, and part of the path to the Flying Turns platform. The bridge for the Turnpike Cars still stands across the driveway for one of the apartment buildings built on the former west end of the Park and the remains of the supports for the Turnpike Cars center directional rail which was used on the track to keep the turnpike cars from going off of the track are also still visible.

Next to the pier, of which the concrete portion is largely intact, sits an empty, circular cement pool which was once a ride. Beach-goers could sit in suspended swing seats, and be taken for rides around the 2-foot-deep (0.61 m) pool via a motor in the pool's center. Later, the swing seat apparatus was removed, and a center fountain was put in its place. The pool is now filled in with dirt and grass. Plans are to rebuild the Pier.

Perhaps the most famous of the remnants of Euclid Beach Park is the arched main gate. This archway has been declared a Cleveland landmark, and is now protected from demolition. The arch was severely damaged by a hit-and-run driver in January 2007. On June 12, 2007, the rebuilt Arch was rededicated.

Today, the former entrance road into the park is E 159th St. The portion of the site not included in the State Park is occupied by a trailer park, and the owners of the trailer park demolished the Humphrey Mansion in 2005.

The Humphrey Company continues to sell the popcorn and taffy products made famous during the heyday of the park.

The 2007 documentary Welcome Back Riders featured Euclid Beach.

Euclid Beach also featured in an episode of the classic television series, Route 66, in which a young boy runs away from home and spends the day in the park.

Inspired by their recollection of the famous Euclid Beach frozen custard, two Cleveland area men set out to learn as much as they could about making this old-time treat. In 1985, they opened their first East Coast Frozen Custard store in Parma Heights, Ohio and have opened a small number of stores in other locations in Northeast Ohio since that time. They have credited the success of the chain to the ability of their product to revive customer memories of Euclid Beach Park.