Topics in History: Lakeside Amusement Park

 

When the weather begins to warm and the school year comes to an end, many start to look for fun outdoor activities. In 1908 those looking for a new source of entertainment flocked to the Lakeside Amusement Park for its opening day on May 30th. Lakeside, also referred to as the “White City” because of the 100,000 electric lamps used to illuminate the park, boasted a 37 acre lake and 50 “big attractions” including a $100,000 casino building.

Less than a year prior to the park’s opening, the town of Lakeside was incorporated. It’s currently estimated to have 8 residents. Both town and park were founded by the Lakeside Reality and Amusement Company led by prominent Denver brewer Adolph Zang. Zang endeavored to build the resort just across the county line from Denver to move beyond the reach of city’s liquor laws. In 1935 the park was sold to Benjamin Krasner. Mr. Krasner’s daughter, Rhoda for whom the lake is named after, owns the park today. Today Lakeside is one of the oldest amusement parks in the United States and visitors can still enjoy many of the original amusements and architecture.

Historic Newspaper Articles About Lakeside Amusement Park

• The Local News Colorado Transcript August 8, 1907
• Commissioners do Much Business Colorado Transcript September 12, 1907
• The Local News Colorado Transcript October 24, 1907
• Colorado News Items Colorado Transcript December 19, 1907
• Many New Features at Big Amusement Park Colorado Transcript December 26, 1907
• Lakeside Park Will be a Maze of Lights Colorado Transcript February 20, 1908
• There was a gathering of mayors Fairplay Flume February 28, 1908
• Lakeside News Colorado Transcript April 23, 1908
• Lakeside Resort Nears Completion Colorado Transcript May 7, 1908
• Lakeside Park Denver Elbert County Banner June 5, 1908
• Lakeside Park, Denvers Resort Summit County Journal June 6, 1908
• Lakeside Department Colorado Transcript May 21, 1908
• Lakeside Department Colorado Transcript May 28, 1908
• Lakeside Department Colorado Transcript June 4, 1908
• Lakeside Department Colorado Transcript June 18, 1908

This topic in history and the related online primary sources are brought to you by the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, a free online resource of primary sources.  For this and other topics, please visit the Colorado Historic Newspapers Topics page. For questions about CHNC, contact Leigh Jeremias, ljeremias@colordovirtuallibrary.org