This series is taken from a chapter in my regional park history book, Imagineering an American Dreamscape. Let’s look at the design of these magnificent parks and take a tour from that first year. If you missed the first part, here it is.
The Santa Clara property had originally been conceived of by Fess Parker, who had turned to real estate development and wanted to build his own park. He, of course, had originally tried in Kentucky, only to have the Taft Corporation out-draw him when they decided to build Kings Island. Frontier World would of course have a western themed area, but also space, history, and interestingly, an area with rides based on farm and industrial machinery. “I always wanted to ride an oil well pump, you know.” Randall Duell and his team was helping Fess with ideas, traveling the country showing him various parks they had designed. At one stop, the perhaps overly-enthusiastic owner of Carowinds, thrilled to have such a celebrity visitor, tossed him into the riverboat’s waterway. Twice. The patience of Job was evident not only here, but time after time trying to meet with Santa Clara officials to get their approvals. After a potential partnership with McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc fizzled, Parker finally had enough and sold the property to Marriott.
By now Randall and his team had over a decade of experience, with some members of the company going back as far as the C.V. Wood projects in the late 50s. They had worked through lots of refinements for park layout, people movement, attractions, services, and operations, and all of this would be realized in the Marriott masterpieces. The complex puzzle of determining park scale, pathway routing and size, quantity and design of necessary services such as food and restrooms, and thousands of other details took a great deal of trial and error back then. Today’s park designers benefit greatly from their work as much of this information is found in tables and other resources. How many restrooms do you need? How long should the queue be for a major coaster? Or a kiddie flat ride? How do you plan for expansion? How many shows and attractions are necessary? None of this is based solely on preference; it’s a careful balance of budget and satisfied guests. Too little to do and lines get long, people get bored, they’re not spending money, and they don’t come back. Too much and you’ve probably blown the budget and might never recoup the expense. Although the Marriott projects were not low-budget affairs, there were certainly financial constraints the designers were obligated to meet. Herb Ryman, legendary artist for film and Disney parks, once advised a young Imagineer working on EuroDisneyland: “Eddie, bad taste costs no more.” His main point, a bit tongue-in- cheek when referring to mediocre work, was that instead of just designing a nice structure, make sure it’s got historical authenticity, which doesn’t cost anything but a little time at the library. We can also take away the notion that quality comes from an experienced artist who knows how to put together a good idea. Duell’s designers were at the top of their game in the early-mid 70s, and so they brought a quality standard many other companies simply couldn’t match.
Both Great America parks would follow almost exactly the same design; it’s quite surreal comparing side by side aerial photos from opening year. Due to higher attendance projections, the Gurnee park was slightly larger with a few more small rides, and the front entrance plaza had more room before transitioning into the parking lot. The Duell loop weaved in and out of the various themed areas, featuring nooks and crannies that provided a sense of exploration. Unnoticed by guests was a masterpiece of a solution for park services and maintenance. Over time Duell’s designers learned that large bodies of water, while beautiful, should not be placed in the park’s center. The most effective and efficient way to service a park’s restaurants, utilities, and other facilities was directly in the center, behind everything that faced outward toward the loop. Great America featured a service corridor right down the middle, a spine that supported the functions of the park. This eliminated the need to cart supplies, food, and trash along guest pathways. If a utility problem arose it could be dealt with immediately, out of sight, without having to close off a public area and dig up the pavement or lake. Water features were prominent, including numerous streams and ponds beautifully integrated with rides and walkways, but located out of the way of these essential support operations. With larger acreage to work with, each themed area was a fully-developed mini-park and not just a couple of buildings as was the case with some of the early Duell parks. Architecture, signage, entertainment, and even the food was representative of each theme and was elaborately executed. The park clearly had the stamp of a Marriott property in terms of quality, beauty, and emphasis on customer service. And of course building two nearly identical parks followed the company’s long history and expertise in perfecting and franchising a brand experience.
The most fondly remembered detail of Great America is the Columbia Carousel. The entrance to the park is exquisitely grand and elegant; resplendent at the far end of a glistening reflecting pool, the double-decker carousel serves to this day as the park icon. As a visual wienie, it calls you to come explore the grandness of the park. But this is no typical, garden-variety merry-go-round. The ornate structure is 100 feet tall (the California version is actually 101 feet and the tallest in the world). The carousel’s designer at Duell & Associates, John DeCuir, had actually come up with a three-decker (“But three levels are better than two!”) only to be talked down a bit by Randall simply because it would cost too much (the final version still cost over a million dollars). No loss, because this is truly one of the more magnificent pieces to be found at a regional park. A good thing they changed their minds from the original idea—a 300 foot tall Ferris wheel. Sure wouldn’t have been the same.
A trolley wound its way through Carousel Plaza, with turnaround loops at Orleans Place and Home Town Square. The overall theme of the park was a celebration of America; this seemed especially appropriate for a park opening in 1976, so each area was dedicated to a different region of the United States. Walking past the right side of the Columbia, we would pass underneath the railroad bridge, the station prominently positioned up to our left behind the carousel. This was Home Town Square, taking you back to small town America and featuring a central green park and gazebo surrounded by the trolley tracks. Facing the square from each side was the train station, Engine Company #1 ice cream shop, and the Hot Shoppe—a tribute to the original root beer shop where J. Willard Marriott and his wife Alice first got started in business. Enjoy one of the park’s premiere shows in the Grand Music Hall before getting in the queue for Willard’s Whizzer, a Schwarzkopf Speed Racer coaster, featuring a unique spiral lift hill (yes, it was a family name—the privilege of building your own park). Ride first, then eat, so next get a down- home chicken dinner at Maggie Brown’s Boarding House. Just up the pathway, a children’s section with pint-sized rides was in a cutout to the left before crossing over the bridge and into Midwest County Fair.
Ferris wheels are a signature feature of all fairs and carnivals, and Great America upped the ante with Sky Whirl, a gigantic custom-designed Triple Tree Wheel sold by Intamin. Though there were a few carnival games, few parks had extensive game midways such as would be added over time. It’s as though parks shunned such activities in the effort to get away from the negative carny stereotype that plagued Walt Disney during his planning. Over time it becomes more of a vintage thing, an historical throwback that gives it a fresh, wholesome attribute. A Farmer’s Market food court and bandstand, the Big Top circus shows, and a small merry-go-round contributed to the fair atmosphere. The main attractions were the Turn of the Century, a state-of-the-art Arrow corkscrew coaster, and the Barney Oldfield Speedway, featuring custom Arrow 1920s race cars traveling on no less than three tracks. The Eagle’s Flight sky ride station provided an aerial view of the park, touching down below Orleans Place, and Fairgrounds Junction serviced the railroad, making its second stop at Home Town Square.
Working our way back around the other side of the loop, we’d cross over the covered bridge that cleverly hid the central service corridor roadway and into Yukon Territory. (An interesting side note regarding the thousands of details involved in park planning—it was discovered too late that the bridge wasn’t positioned high enough to accommodate an ambulance driving along the service road underneath, making it impossible to reach anywhere in the park without traveling on the main guest pathway. There’s always something that slips by.) The great logging traditions of that rugged northwest region of Canada were represented here with pole climbing, totem pole carving, and log rolling in the lake. Although Canada is most assuredly not part of the United States, presumably the idea was to showcase life in the upper-west regions that shared similar characteristics. Dolphin shows were all the rage in the 70s, and the capacious Wilderness Theater was located just around the corner from the bridge. Arrow Development had scored big with their water flume rides, and Marriott again went all-out with a custom dual-flume configuration. Logger’s Run was the side stationed in Yukon Territory, where guests boarded log-shaped boats.
Crossing yet another bridge over a stream, Yankee Harbor was evident from the lighthouse, New England architecture, nautical theming, and lots of water. The other flume station, Yankee Clipper, featured clipper-style boats instead of logs. After enjoying a parade by the authentically-garbed Continental Militia, grab a bite at Capt. Morgan’s or Dockside Sandwiches, pick up a unique souvenir at the Nautical Shop, or watch a glassblower at work in the Glass Schooner.
Orleans Place, celebrating New Orleans and the deep South, featured a small park and gazebo similar to Home Town Square, with the other end of the trolley tracks looping around it. Architecture, including its signature wrought-iron filigree, distinguished this area along with cute French names such as Maison le Crystal, Lafitte’s Treasures, Chapeau Chateau, Rue le Dodge, and Alle Mistique Magic. The Delta Flyer sky ride station provided transportation back to the County Fair area.
Overall, the Great America parks were a showcase of design and presentation. Years of experience were reflected in the layout, theming, operations, services, and detail. Marriott wanted to build a first-rate park, and while not being extravagant and trying to match a Disney level of sophistication, the attention to quality was evident. They were of the last built-to-purpose parks from the golden age of the regionals that started with Texas.
Our last installment will summarize the post-Marriott years, including the company getting the last dig at their failed attempts in Virginia.
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