Krug Park (Omaha)

Infobox Amusement park
name = Krug Park


caption =
location = Omaha
location2 = Nebraska
location3 = United States flagicon|USA
opening_date = 1895
closing_date = 1940
previous_names =
season =
area =
rides =
coasters =
water_rides =
owner = Frederick Krug
slogan = "Omaha's Polite Resort"
homepage =

Krug Park was an amusement park located at 2936 North 52nd Street in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, USA at the turn of the 20th century. [http://www.memories.ne.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/opl&CISOPTR=172&CISOBOX=1&REC=3 "Krug's Park."] Nebraska's Memories. Retrieved 2007-09-08.] In 1930, Krug Park was the site of the worst roller coaster accident in the nation up to that time. [http://www.ketv.com/150thbirthday/3243422/detail.html "Survivor recalls Krug Park tragedy,"] KETV.com. Retrieved 2007-09-08.]

History

Charles Tietz, an early Omaha German-American pioneer, founded the park in 1895. In 1902 the Frederick Krug Brewing Company bought it and ran it as Krug Park, a beer garden with amusement rides. Rides included a tunnel of love, an ice cream parlor, and a hot air balloon. Dancers performed nightly in a dance pavilion. Swimming pools, a waterfall, a wave machine, and a two-story bathhouse were added in 1918. Fred Krug referred to it as "a complete amusement park." Early advertisements referred to Krug Park as "Omaha's Polite Resort."

The most deadly roller coaster accident in the United States up to 1930 happened at Krug Park. [Kucirek, M.L. (2004) "Omaha's Krug Park Roller Coaster Accident: Exploring the Diffusion of Communication in Newspaper and Among Omaha Residents." University of Nebraska at Omaha. p 8. Retrieved 9/9/07.] [ [http://www.memories.ne.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/opl&CISOPTR=173&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 "Krug Park"] . Nebraska Library Commission. Retrieved 9/9/07.] On July 24 of that year, the park's "Big Dipper" roller coaster crashed. After 6 p.m., a bolt worked loose and four cars full of children and teenagers plunged to the ground. Four people were killed and 17 were injured.

The Omaha City Council immediately passed an ordinance banning roller coasters in Omaha. Krug Park stayed open but business declined afterwards, and it closed in 1940. [ [http://www.rcdb.com/pd1125.htm "Krug Park"] . Roller Coaster Database. Retrieved 2007-09-08.] It was landscaped into a traditional style park in 1955. It has been renamed Gallagher Park, and is a public park.

ee also

*History of Omaha

References

External links

* [http://www.ketv.com/video/3243396/index.html Video of Krug Park accident survivor]
* [http://www.historicomaha.com/coastr.jpgHistoric postcard of the roller coaster]
* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgenweb/ne/douglas/postcards/krug.jpgHistoric postcard of "The Annex"]