Listening Post: Are we there yet?
The Land of Make Believe in its heyday.
Last week’s post about my little Adirondack road trip and the age of motor-touring brought a reminiscence in reply, about visiting the Land of Make Believe in Upper Jay–one of America’s earliest theme parks, and the imaginative masterpiece of the great Arto Monaco.
Queen Irene says "Off with his head!"
So it was sad to receive the news that Monaco’s landmark was wiped out by flooding following Irene. Brian Mann hiked in to the site and posted this pathetic photo in The In Box, the remains of one of the Red Queen’s playing-card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland.
I’m grateful that I had the chance to be enchanted by The Land of Make Believe as a child, along with many other great roadside destinations in the region: Enchanted Forest, Gaslight Village, Storytown, Santa’s Workshop, Frontier Town, Upper Canada Village, and “1000 Animals” to name a few. I’ve been thinking over the past week of all these places–some gone, some still delighting the road-weary–and find I’m not the only one. Everyone I’ve talked to in the station has their own and different collection, and I’m sure you do, too.
As the Adirondacks and Vermont struggle to reopen roads in time for that other great and ongoing example of motor-touring–the leaf-peeping season–it seems like a good time to try a little documentary crowd-sourcing project. Did you eat at the Dilly Wagon in Potsdam? Do you have a photo of the family car outside the castle at the top of the Whiteface Highway? Did you strap skates over your saddle shoes at DeKalb Skateland? Where did you first play miniature golf? Get a window tray from a wheeled waitress? See a movie from your car?
Get out the old family album and send us pictures, places, and stories of your life running up and down the roads of the North Country. Places gone, places present, and new candidates for the pantheon of great American roadside attractions. Over the next few weeks, I’ll compile everything I get into pages and maps. You can start the process here with a comment below. Email photos and captions to [email protected]
Tags: listeningpost
Don’t forget Roadside America miniature village in Shartlesville, Pa. http://www.roadsideamericainc.com/
My sister and I, as well as my parents, have fond memories of the Land of Make-Believe. We all think it was a very special place. Anyone I have ever talked to that went there feels the same. The family went to other ‘tourist attractions’ in the 60’s like Santa’s Workshop and the Enchanted Forest, but the Land of Make-Believe was the best.
It is sad that it was repeatedly flooded and could not be rebuilt. Although some new things would have been needed to keep up with what kids know today, I think it could have still been popular because it was a place really designed for kids to roam around freely rather than standing on lines for rides and amusrments.
It is sad that many of those old places are gone or so totally different. I thnk it was better back then. The attractions might have been simpler but there were also a lot less restrictions, which means a lot more ‘exploring’ could be done rather than just being entertained.
Ah, the Dilly Wagon. I remember the #3 Dilly Burgers and the ‘autograph ceiling’. Does anyone have the recipe for that sauce?
My family vacationed in the Adirondacks in the early 1970’s and I remember visits to Frontier Town, Santa’s Workshop and Ausable Chasm. At Frontier Town we witnessed a bank robbery and enjoyed the rodeo, even though it was a cold gray day. We watched the rodeo from beneath a blanket when it began to rain. The day was sunny at Santa’s Workshop and I remember a ride in a teacup with my sister.
I believe that some of the buildings from the Land of Make Believe were moved to the Great Escape in Queensbury a few years ago. Also, the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake has a collection of toys and props from LOMB. One of those of I’ve seen at the museum was his map of the Adirondacks. It is truly a child’s vision of the ADKs because all of its landmark places are theme parks, not the natural features: peaks, lakes and rivers that catch my eye as an adult.
The most driven route of my family’s summer trips when I was a child was to our camp just off Rt 30 in Duane, NY. My favorite place on this path was The Eskimo Inn in St Regis Falls. It was rare that we didn’t stop for their delicious soft serve ice cream. The domed building is still there, but it has changed hands and names over the years and, alas, some time ago they did away with the white finish on the exterior that made it resemble an igloo.
We All Scream For Ice Cream!
My family drove 4 1/2 hours up Route 9 from Wappingers Falls every weekend to our home in the Adirondacks for many years before the Northway was built. We kids measured the trip by the landmarks. The neon Indian on the West Taghkanic Diner, Nipper on top of the RCA building, Hoffman’s Playland (Latham), Fairyland Village (Saratoga), Story Town (Lake George), the Teepee (Lake George), and finally the mannequin in black Victorian dress that stood outside an antique shop in Warrensburg. Then we knew we were almost there!