PONTCHARTRAIN BEACH MEMORIES
Tell us your fun memories about radio and
growing up in New Orleans in the 50's, 60's and 70's!
E-mail your memories to Bob Walker HERE
PONTCHARTRAIN BEACH: (closed Sept. 24, 1983)
The
round red beacon light atop the first hill of the Zephyr
(you
could see it for miles as you drove, and you got excited the closer it got)
The
clown face that laughed at the entrance to Pontchartrain Beach
The
7-Up sign at the entrance with the neon fish blowing bubbles
(with
the caption: "You like it, it likes you.")
The scary feeling as the Zephyr car started to roll thru the dark
tunnel as the ride began
The Zephyr slowly going over the top of the first hill...annnnnddddddd...........down!
The Bug
Laff In The Dark (easy place to steal a kiss)
The
Rotor
The
Whip
The Tilt-A-Whirl
The
Paratrooper
The
Music Express
The
Aero Cars that flew on cables
The
Shooting Gallery
Rolling the Skee-Balls to circular targets of varying point winnings
The Fascination games where you sat down and rolled a rubber ball
under a sheet of plexiglas
and
it bounced merrily from hole to hole, each hole worth a different point
value
The string pull (the strings were never attached to the big stuffed
animals)
The fishing booth where you always hooked a wooden fish worth a cheap
toy
The
hoop toss
The lead milk bottles that were nearly impossible to knock off the
stool with a ball
The elevated walkway over the midway between the dressing rooms and
the pool
The
prize redemption booth under the walkway
The swimming pool that was used in later years as a dolphin tank
The Dancing Fountains, high wire acts and other shows on the Beach
stage
WTIX
night and all star show on the Beach stage at the end of each summer
The
Bali Hai
Kiddieland with the Miniature Zephyr and the little boats going in
a circle and
all
the kids ringing the bell constantly on each boat
The
Milneburg Lighthouse in front of Kiddieland
The
Wild Maus and the Log Flume (both at the same site, different years)
The Penny Arcade with the mechanical Gypsy woman who selected a fortune
card for you
A
penny machine gave that returned pictures of '40's movie stars in the Penny
Arcade
The
Penny Arcade shooting gallery. If you searched the floor and found a few
round silver
pellets
that bounced back after being fired by others, you could get a few free
shots.
The recording booth in the Penny Arcade, where you could cut a 5"
record for 25 cents.
The
bad part was that your recording was played back before the disk came out,
and your
recording
played both inside the booth and outside for all to hear! I still have my
early
childhood
recordings from that booth, embarrassing myself singing "Goodnight
Irene"
and
the theme from the Mickey Mouse Club
The Sky Ride
The Bumper Cars
The Flying Horses
The
Mirror Maze
The
Ferris Wheel
The
huge clown face at the end of the midway by the Ferris Wheel and Flying
Horses
The Rajun Cajun (the last new ride ever at the Beach)
Those great oniony Beach Burgers
The
soft and swirly ice cream in a cone
Lying
on the sand and actually swimming in Lake Pontchartrain
The
gentle breeze blowing onto the midway from the lake
The
smell of popcorn and cotton candy in the air everywhere
NOTE: Most of the attractions of the Penny Arcade, including the
machines
with the pictures of the '40's movie stars and cowboy pictures,
the
flipper baseball machine and many other games,
and
even the mechanical Gypsy woman fortuneteller are on display at
the
wonderful museum for nostalgia of all types:
Cars of Yesteryears
4633
Fairfield
Metairie,
LA 70006
(504)
885-0452
Listen To: Pontchartrain
Beach Jingle & Radio Commercial on WTIX 1962