Trolley Parks were born when trolley companies began adding picnic areas, playgrounds and carousels to the ends of lines to increase weekend ridership. In the early 1900s, there were more than 1,000 trolley parks, but today, only a dozen remain, including Rochester’s own Seabreeze Park.
Trolley Parks: Great Lakes airs Monday, May 11 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streaming live on the WXXI and PBS apps.
Trolley Park: Great Lakes reveals the rich histories of two iconic amusement parks located on the shores of the Great Lakes: Seabreeze Park welcoming guests since 1879 on the shores of Lake Ontario, and Waldameer Park on Lake Erie, which began as a picnic ground in 1896. Trolley Park: Great Lakes also tells the story of the family ownership of both parks—ownership that has spanned generations.
Trolley parks were the precursors to today’s amusement parks. Most were built by streetcar companies in the late 1800s to increase business by giving riders a
weekend destination at the “end of the line,” usually located at a park or lake. Initially, they included pavilions, dance halls and sports fields, with many
expanding to include Ferris wheels, carousels and swimming pools. These parks helped usher in the golden age of amusement parks. In the early 1900s there were more than a thousand trolley parks. Now only a few remain.
Joy is what multiple generations have experienced and continue to experience at Seabreeze and Waldameer Park. Our goal with this film is to remind viewers of that simple joy with the hope that they will spread that joy, especially to children, while also realizing that preserving memories of times past is equally essential as safeguarding these trolley parks into the future.
Trolley Parks: Great Lakes repeats 5/16 at 4 p.m. and 5/18 at 5 p.m. on WXXI-TV.
Photo: Seabreeze Figure Eight/Courtesy of Seabreeze Park