History of Amusement Parks
Whenever we are stressed after a long day at the office or after a long day at home with kids, we try to find a getaway for releasing the stress. Amusement parks are one of those favorite getaways that anyone can go and enjoy.
From the construction of the first amusement park, it has come a long way with many additions to its domain. Amusement park is also called the theme parks as almost all of the amusement park promotes themes. When it comes to the history of amusement park, the story goes back to England in 1133. Although these fairs such as Bartholomew Fair are kind of amusement parks, they lack some of the characteristics of modern amusement parks. Therefore, these fairs are considered as the parents of amusement parks. The modern amusement parks are the derivations of these old models.
Only at the beginning of the Elizabeth era that these fairs became amusement parks by including many varieties of activities such as rides etc. Then it as all the golden age for the amusement parks as it was considered as one of the accessible leisure for most of the categories of the society. Although these events had amusement park characteristics, they were annual events contrast to the modern amusement parks that runs for the entire year.
With the rise of industrial revolution, the need for amusement parks increased. For this period of time, amusement parks were an ideal salvation from the increasing urbanism. Therefore, the amusement parks at this era were also themed as gardens, so there were a lot of flora and fauna present in the amusement park.
Glided Age of the American history was the golden era for amusement parks. The latter half of the 19th century is noted as Glided Age where Americans had to work only a few hours a day and earned a lot of disposable income. Due to the free time available and the disposable money, the Americans were looking for spending the both in a new way. Amusement parks were a great way of utilizing the time and money, so more and more Americans individuals and companies started building amusement parks in major cities and rural areas. By 1900, there were hundreds of amusement parks all around the America and the popularity of the amusement parks were peak until the end of 1920s.
Then it was all bad luck for amusement parks. With the depression of 1930s and the World War II of 1940s, people started gathering around the television as it was one of the cheap entertainment and families started going to amusement parks less often.