Chutes Park

Chutes Park in Los Angeles, California began as a trolley park in 1887. It was a 35-acre (140,000 m²) amusement park bounded by Grand Avenue on the west, Main Street on the east, Washington Boulevard on the north and 21st Street on the south. At various times it included rides, animal exhibits, a theater and a baseball park. In 1910 the park was sold to new owners (including Frederick Ingersoll) and reopened as Luna Park. The amusement park closed in 1914.

The name Chutes Park was also applied to the baseball park which opened around 1900 and was the original home of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League.

History

David V. Waldron bought about 35 acres (140,000 m²) at Washington and Main and began to develop the property in 1887. It had previously been the site of a hotel. He also made a business arrangement to establish a horse-drawn rail line to connect to the city streetcar lines because the location was outside of the Los Angeles city limits. He began weekly variety shows in a small pavilion, brought in animals for display, and planted an orange grove. Unfortunately, the park was allowed to decline and by the late 1890s was seldom used. In 1899, however, the property was sold to new owners which created the Los Angeles County Improvement Co. They built a new theater, baseball park and brought in new rides.

The Rides

The park featured such rides as a roller coaster, a chutes water slide that dropped riders in boats from a 75-foot (23 m) tower into a manmade lake, and a miniature railroad. The park's merry-go-round was electrically powered, as was the engine that pulled the boats back up from the lake to the tower.

In October 1903, the operators added a steel-framed figure-eight roller coaster.

Attractions

The site also included, at various times, such exotic diversions as a seal pond, ostriches and the interestingly named House of Trouble and Cave of the Winds. By 1901, it also had a 4,000-seat theater and a baseball park that seated 10,000.

The Los Angeles County Improvement Co. added fishing pond, a small circus, hot-air balloon rides, the Catalina Marine Band and a small railroad that followed the outer perimeter of the park.

The baseball park

By 1900, the baseball diamond was completed on the northern end of the park, with a team to play in the new California League. It would be the first team to be called the Los Angeles Angels.^[1] It was also home of the Vernon Tigers. Following games, a gate in the center field fence was opened and fans were allowed to enter the theme park.

Chutes Park was replaced by Washington Park in 1912, which had been built nearby Chutes Park, at Washington and Hill Streets. The Chutes / Washington area was abandoned entirely when the Angels moved to Wrigley Field at 42nd Street and Avalon Boulevard.

Sources

• Berman, Jay and Sesar Carreno. "The Short Life of a Downtown Amusement Park," Los Angeles Downtown News, 9/4/2006
• Stanton, Jeffrey. 2005. Chutes & Luna Park - 1900 - 1912. Retrieved 27 July 2007
• Take Me Out to the Ball Park, Lowell Reidenbaugh, The Sporting News, 1983 & 1987, p. 138-142
• Ballparks of North America, Michael Benson, McFarland, 1989, p. 209

References

1. ^ Weiss, Bill & Marshall Wright. TEAM #29 1903 LOS ANGELES ANGELS (133 - 78), Minor League Baseball: History. Retrieved 27 July 2007.

Coordinates: 34°01′51″N 118°16′02″W / 34.030773°N 118.267197°W / 34.030773; -118.267197