Luna Park (Seattle)

Luna Park was an amusement park in Seattle, Washington that operated from 1907 until 1913 and was billed as the “Greatest Amusement Park on the West Coast." Designed by famed carousel carver Charles I.D. Looff, Luna Park took its name from Coney Island’s Luna Park, which was also designed by Looff. The twelve-acre park was constructed near the Duwamish Head on the northern tip of Alki Beach in West Seattle. The park was built on pilings so that the expansive boardwalk extended over Elliott Bay.

Luna Park’s main attractions were the Zeum Carousel, the Great Figure Eight roller coaster, the Giant Whirl and Shoot the Chutes. Additionally, Luna Park hosted daily acts, including the clown Uncle Hiram and Don Carlo’s Trained Monkey and Dog Circus. The park featured a live bear pit, as well. The park was also host to a variety of concessions and games of chance, such as shooting galleries and ball tosses. One of the park’s most prominent structures was its saltwater Natatorium, which housed both salt- and freshwater swimming pools.

The park was accessible by trolley, the West Seattle ferry, or the Seattle Municipal Railway’s Luna Park Line. During evening hours the park was brilliantly illuminated, with each building and ride outlined in bulbs. Because of its extravagant lighting scheme the park could be seen for miles and was billed as a safe nighttime destination for women and children.

Other of Luna Park’s nighttime attractions weren’t as popular among the moral community of West Seattle. The park boasted the “longest and best-stocked bar” on Elliott Bay, a venue that angered the citizens around Alki. Feeling that drunks would overrun their community, West Seattle petitioned to be annexed into the City of Seattle in the hope that its conservative mayor, William Hickman Moore, would address their concerns.

Seattle annexed West Seattle in 1907, two days after Luna Park opened, but it did little good. The same year the City of Seattle also annexed Ballard, Southeast Seattle, South Park, Ravenna and Columbia City. With such massive expansion, Mayor Moore had little time to focus on the concerns over Luna Park.

In the next mayoral election, Hi Gill replaced Moor as mayor. Gill was not the mayor for which West Seattle was hoping, though. Gill’s chief of police, Charles Wappenstein, was involved with the development of a 500-room Brothel in Beacon Hill, a project in which Luna Park’s manager, W.W. Powers, was an investor. “The Forces of Decency,” an activist group consisting of prohibitionists and newly enfranchised female voters, pushed for a recall election and Hi Gill was voted out of office. Luna Park was closed in 1913.

The rides were disassembled and removed, but the Natatorium continued to operate, changing its name to Luna Pool. In 1931 Luna Pool caught fire and the remains of Luna Park were destroyed. The fire was suspicious, with many believing that the culprit was the same arsonist who had destroyed a number of other Seattle landmarks, including Dugdale Baseball Park. The pier was declared a total loss and replacement estimates were too high for the city to finance rebuilding. It was condemned in 1933.

In 1946, the City of Seattle filled in the pools of the Natatorium to avoid potential lawsuits. Today the site is known as Anchor Park, due to the sizeable anchor, salvaged from the waters near the site, that is on display. Today all that remains of the “Greatest Amusement Park on the West Coast” are the original pilings, which are visible during extremely low tide, and the Zeum Carousel, which is still in operation at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, California. The name also survives in such local businesses as the Luna Park Cafe.

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External links

* [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=1390 Luna Park - Coney Island of the West] HistoryLink.org
* [http://www.lunaparkcafe.com/ Luna Park Cafe]
* cite book
last = Filer
first = Patricia
authorlink = Patricia Filer
title = All Aboard For Luna Park
publisher = Southwest Seattle Historical Society
year = 2000