On June 19, 1960, New Yorkers were introduced to a unique amusement park. Unlike those that came before it and certainly never duplicated since, Freedomland U.S.A. incorporated American history into family entertainment.
In the northeast part of the New York City borough of The Bronx, Freedomland U.S.A. was billed as "the world’s largest entertainment center." On the first day, more than 60,000 people passed through its gates. They experienced cowboy shootouts, train robberies and space travel. All of it was situated on 85 acres carved into the shape of a map of the continental U.S.
Freedomland was dubbed the “Disneyland of the East,” but it was so much more. It blended entertainment with education. It opened at a time when children were taught about the early history of the country in grade schools and popular television programs included the Disney-created Davey Crockett and a multitude of westerns.
Historic Location of Freedomland
The land chosen for the park was swampy. Since the beginning of Colonial America, this area of Westchester County, which eventually became the northeast Bronx, had been soft ground. It experienced rising and falling levels of water, depending on the tides of nearby Eastchester Bay to the east, and it contained typical wetlands vegetation. A mill, Reid’s Mill (sometimes misspelled “Reed”), operated on the land before the Revolutionary War and until about the Civil War. A mill building stood close to the area that was designated for the park until the structure was destroyed by a storm during 1900.
About a half mile north of the area that was set aside for the theme park, wetlands today retain an appearance that would have been familiar to people who lived, fished and hunted in the region from before the 1600s to the early 1900s. This area included a settlement that was the home of Anne Hutchinson, whose name now is associated with the nearby river and parkway. Also in the area are remnants of a colonial road (Split Rock Road) on which George Washington's troops fought against British and Hessian soldiers during the American Revolution. Another road (Gun Hill Road) in this community received its name from various skirmishes that occurred during the Revolution.
It could be seen as ironic that a theme park focused on American history would be situated so close to sites of actual events associated with the early history of the country. But the location actually had less to do with the historic landscape and more to do with 1) the availability of undeveloped land in crowded New York, 2) access to the location by car and public transportation and 3) deals made by real estate developers and city planners involved with the project .
Before plans for Freedomland were conceived, the land was used for several different purposes. A municipal airport was considered for the site, but the topography eventually proved difficult for landing airplanes. On August 5, 1927, Billingsly Aviation Field opened and the first plane to touch down, a Curtis biplane, crashed into a car as it landed. A week earlier, before the official opening, the same plane had crashed and lost both wings when it struck a tree. Years later, the land housed a cucumber farm and pickle factory, and then it became a popular place to dump the trash.
Though the property was marsh, some people now believe that a plan was developed during the 1950s to prepare the land for a potential housing or business complex. To do this, though, construction plans had to meet certain city conditions to address issues created by the soft ground. While the development of the land began with the theme park, the objective was to build what would become the largest cooperative housing development in the world.
New York Amusement Parks and Attractions
Bronx residents had an abundance of family entertainment venues from which to choose during the early 1960s. Those seeking a carnival atmosphere would use public transportation to reach Brooklyn's Coney Island and Rockaways’ Playland in Queens. If a car was available, people traveled to Palisades Amusement Park, which was located along the Hudson River in New Jersey, or Rye Playland, which continues to operate today in Westchester County. Smaller neighborhood amusement areas could be found throughout the five boroughs of the city, in Westchester and throughout Long Island.
Freedomland U.S.A., though, was much different than these conventional amusement parks. It was a theme park that featured the story of America through attractions that included the Wild West, the Chicago Fire, the Civil War and Little Old New York. It even peeked at the future of space flight. Many stars of the entertainment variety -- Count Basie, the Four Seasons, Chubby Checker and Bobby Darin -- also made appearances before huge crowds at the park.
Despite the fanfare over Freedomland, the park began to fail soon after it opened. However, its failure had nothing to do with the many excuses often related to mismanagement or the loss of visitors to the New York’s World Fair (1964-1965). Its rise and fall, some have maintained, was pre-determined and involved the same local real estate developers and politicians who heralded its creation.
Many who never saw the park have claimed, falsely, that it was doomed to fail. Though it was different than any other entertainment park ever created, and this included Disneyland, Freedomland could have been successful for many years if the powerful people who initially backed it actually were interested in its success.
This is the first of a series of articles about Freedomland U.S.A. that will describe the creation of the park, the sponsors and attractions, and its planned demise even before its fabulous opening day. The next article will look at opening day and the featured attractions.
Visit Freedomland U.S.A. today on Facebook.
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Articles and a few pictures cannot provide the full story about Freedomland. For anyone interested in amusement park history and this significant part of Bronx history, Freedomland historian Bob Mangels has produced a DVD that contains interviews with park developers, employees and celebrities along with rare pictures and video. Learn more at Freedomland U.S.A.
Sources of information for this series include Freedomland historian Bob Mangels, employees of the theme park, literature created by Freedomland U.S.A. and The Bronx Historical Society.
Mike Virgintino - Mike Virgintino is a marketing communications executive who has directed corporate, nonprofit and product branding initiatives that rely ...
