Monday, May 4, 2009
Mysteries Fairyland Park
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Mon, May 4, 2009 at 4:13 PM
In the May issue of Memphis magazine, my ne'er-do-well colleague Michael Finger tells the compelling story of East End Park, one of this area's most elaborate entertainment complexes. Opened in the late 1880s, East End featured rides, games, fireworks shows, and some of the most bizarre vaudeville performances you could ever imagine. I mean, it's not every day that you see somebody called "The Human Bomb" in action. But I don't intend to tell you the whole story here. Please purchase a magazine — a bargain at just $3.99 — and read it for yourself.
But this isn't about East End Park. Instead, I wanted to mention its neighbor, a little-known amusement park in Memphis called Fairyland Park, which stood (according to some accounts) just east of East End, with an entrance on Poplar or — depending on who you believe — Madison. And I bring all this up because somebody on eBay is currently selling an old postcard (above) showing the Fairyland Park Theatre — a rather elaborate building, judging from the image. Too bad it doesn't show more of the park, though.
The eBay item number is 390045848837, and the current price is $24.99 — unfortunately, a bit more than I can afford at the moment, though I suppose the Lauderdale Library could apply for a grant or something.
I just wanted to share that with you. If anybody knows anything else about Fairyland Park, well, you know how to reach me.
Comments (6)
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Fairyland was located on the site of the Parkview Hotel / Retirement Community. I haven't seen any pictures, but it was said to have a roller coaster, a midway, a clubhouse, an arcade, concessions, an ice skating rink, and I'm sure many other things. It had a 2,000 seat theater for "Summer dramatics" in opposition to East End's "Summer vaudeville." The park opened in 1907, but I think the ice skating rink opened before then. The park was destroyed by a fire on May 9, 1908.
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Fairyland was located on the site of the Parkview Hotel / Retirement Community. I haven't seen any pictures, but it was said to have a roller coaster, a midway, a clubhouse, an arcade, concessions, an ice skating rink, and I'm sure many other things. It had a 2,000 seat theater for "Summer dramatics" in opposition to East End's "Summer vaudeville." The park opened in 1907, but I think the ice skating rink opened before then. The park was destroyed by a fire on May 9, 1908.
This is great information! Many thanks. Of course, the next step would be for me to go to the library and look up a May 9, 1908, newspaper on microfilm to glean even more facts. But with my vertigo, such a task is impossible. The last time I used one of the microfilm readers, I got so dizzy and off-balance that I literally tumbled out of my chair, and I'm pretty sure that I heard one of the librarians mutter, "There's that old Vance coot — drunk again."
Here are link to the sections with Overton, Fairyland and East End from the Guide and Map of the City of Memphis by the Memphis Abstract Company (1908):
http://www.wdbj.net/shelby/directories/190…
http://www.wdbj.net/shelby/directories/190…
Great job, Phoebe! I love old maps and aerial photos. This clearly shows the relationship (and close proximity) of Fairyland Park and East End Park — just a block from each other on Poplar, though I believe the main entrance to East End was on Madison. Still, I wonder why so little is known about Fairyland? It's rarely, if ever, mentioned in any local history books.
