Electric Park

Electric Park. . , In 1900, electricity was a novel source of power and light. This was also the dawn of the golden age of amusement parks. Electrified passenger rail line operators, some of whom generated their own electricity, created "electric parks" as destinations on their lines to boost revenues through increased weekend ridership, Electric Park at Kinderhook Lake , In 1901, the Albany&Hudson Railway and Power Company Railroad opened "Electric Park" where the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail now runs past the east shore of mile-long Kinderhook Lake. The forty-acre park, illuminated at night by hundreds of colored electric lights, was billed as the largest amusement park between New York City and Montreal. Admission to the park was free with a forty-cent round-trip ticket. Visitors enjoyed rides on Ferris wheels, a roller coaster, carousel, waterslide, and farm animals. Entertainment included orchestras and tasteful vaudeville shows, and activities included bowling, dancing, and wintertime skating., Popularity and Decline , Electric Park was a popular recreation destination for upper Hudson Rover Valley residents for fifteen years. Summertime weekend daily attendance of ten thousand visitors was common. The rail line ran park-bound trips every half hour and added a second parallel track in 1909 to handle traffic between the park and Albany. Park popularity began to wane during World War I, when competition from new forms of entertainment like silent films and the freedom of movement offered by the automobile drew people away from amusement parks. Electric Park closed its gates after Labor Day weekend in 1923, and the land was sold for house lots