Arto Monaco’s Land of Make Believe erased by Irene

I trudged this afternoon through a silt-swept floodplain that used to be Arto Monaco’s fabled “Land of Make Believe.”

One of the first theme parks in the US, the site had been in disrepair for years, but weathered floods and ice jams with remarkable fortitude.

No more.  On my hike, I could find only shattered remnants of the magical place.

To learn more about his remarkable legacy, go here, or check out my story about Arto produced a decade ago.

Interviewing him in his Gepetto-like workshop was one of the highlight’s of my career.

Seeing his creations lost in this way adds a tough dimension to the disaster.

Tags: irene