Timeline

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Timeine

Below is a timeline of major events at Olentangy Park:

1890-1899

1896

• The Columbus Street Railway Company built the land the Villa Tavern stood at the end of one of the trolley lines.
• "The Villa" is officially named "Olentangy Park" when a volunteer wins a Columbus Dispatch naming contest.
• The park opened for its first season on June 12, 1896.
• The first Dancing Pavilion and Merry-Go-Round were built. The Boathouse and south bandstand already exited on the site.
• Two bowling alleys were built into the Boathouse.

1897

• Kinetoscope views began to be shown to audiences every evening

1898

• After flooding destroyed the original alleys, four new alleys are built in the boathouse.

1899

• The Olentangy Park Company was incorporated.
• The Columbus Street Railway Company transferred its lease to Joseph W. Dusenbury and Eli West, but is often seen as being purchased by Joseph W. and Will J. Dusenbury or "The Dusenbury Brothers." The Dusenbury Brothers also owned nearby Minerva Park and the Southern, Grand, and other theaters in Columbus.
• The Olentangy Park Casino and Theater was built just north of the ravine.
• Constables attempted to shut down the Sunday performance in the theater on June 18, 1899, resulting in a riot.
• The park's first funhouse, the Crystal Maze is built.
• A wing in the first Dancing Pavilion is closed and a bowling alley is installed.

1900-1909

1900

• The Bathing Pavilion and Water Toboggan were built on the river.
• The park's first Shooting Gallery wis built just south of the Crystal Maze.
• Stunts started to be a staple at the park.

1901

• The Columbus Street Railway Company builds a new steel trestle bridge to replace the wooden one that went from High Street to Olentangy Park, expanding it to two tracks.
• A new dining hall and restaurant are added.
• J. W. Dusenbury secretly signs a 99-year lease on the park's property, renewal forever, beginning in March 1901 from Henry T. Chittenden and his ex-wife Henrietta B. Burgher, discovered through a land dispute. The Columbus Railway Company waives its lease on the property. This adds 27 acres to the park.

1902

• A major lawsuit by Otho L. Hays and Daniel H. Mackey, owners of the Ball Grounds, is filed against the park company over relocating fences on the east and south sides to cut through public streets and enclosing a roadway within the park. They wanted to also raise the rent for their land. The fences were removed.
• The park's first mechanical ride, Figure Eight Toboggan, is built.
• The Miniature Railway is built just north of the Figure Eight.
• A fire destroys the mills of the Boathouse on June 13, 1902.

1903

• The Dusenburys remove the fences in the Hays-Mackey dispute and saw the old dining hall in half as well as part of the Dancing Pavilion. A row of posts leading from High Street to the park grounds are removed, and the holes are filled in.
• The Columbus Railway Company leases five acres south of the park, extending it as far south as Dodridge Street, affording new walks and picnic grounds. As part of the remodeling of all the buildings, calcium light effects are added to the theater and 1,000 additional lights are installed to the park.
• The Ball Grounds are improved, and the Modern Woodmen baseball team changes its name to the Olentangy Athletic Club.
• The Cave of the Winds, House of Trouble, Laughing Gallery, and Ferris Wheel are built. The Cave of the Winds and House of Trouble are open for just one year.
• The Dusenburys open the Zoological Garden. The collection consists of buffalo, dromedaries, elk, deer, lions, leopards, bear, wild hogs, wild cats, foxes, fowls, and more.
• Naturalist Oliver Davie moves an extensive collection of mounted birds and animals from Minerva Park to Olentangy Park's new Museum of Ornithology. An aquarium is built in the center of the building - the first of its kind in Columbus.
• The Crystal Maze closes after four years in operation.

1904

• J. W. Dusenbury leases a tract of the Mackey land on the west side of High Street adjoining Olentangy Park for 10 years, and a Hays plot of land on the west side of High Street adjoining the land also for 10 years.
• The park expands to comprise over 100 square acres.
• The Ball Grounds are enclosed.
• A large grandstand is added.
• The Dancing Pavilion and bowling alleys are enlarged and improved.
• The Colonnade replaces the restrooms and refreshment stands across from the theater.
• New funhouses are added: The Mystic Castle, also called the Castle Mystic, the Palace of Illusions, and the House That Jack Built, constructed by J. W. Zarro.
• The Circle Swing is installed near the Figure Eight.
• The Down and Out slide is added and only lasts a year.
• The first Ye Olde Mill or Auquarama opens.
• The Boathouse boats are swept away in a July flood over the dam, landing near residences. Only nineteen of the twenty-two boats are recovered by the next day.
• The Zoological Garden expands to three times the size. One of the additions includes a large pressed brick animal house.

1905

• To make room for the growth of the zoo, the park grounds are extended to Doddridge Street, making the park around 100 acres.
• "Fair Japan," a Japanese Village exhibit is built on ten acres at the park.
• New Greenhouses and a Palm Garden are built.
• Deep wells are built to provide cold drinking water to patrons.
• The Dancing Pavilion closes after nine years of running to be replaced with a much larger building.
• The House That Jack Built closes at the end of the season.

1906

• The park grows to more than 100 acres, extending a half mile north from Dodridge Street on "both sides of the Olentangy River" and east to North High Street.
• A new Carousel is placed in the structure of the old Dancing Pavilion.
• The new Dancing Pavilion starts being built near the Old Mill at the north end of the park.
• The park's first Roller Skating Rink was added near the southeast entrance with an approach from High Street.
• The Forest Toboggan is purchased from the Columbus Zoological Company and erected along High Street and to the north. It is changed to the Scenic Coaster.
• Several attractions are added including Fantasma, Creation or The Great Hereafter, Photographic Gallery, Theatorium, and Tours of the World.
• Temple of Mirth was added to a new Midway north of the planned Dancing Pavilion.
• Egyptian Mystery and The Third Degree are added to the Colonnade. The latter for only a year.
• J. W. Dusenbury closes Minerva Park to focus on Olentangy Park.
• The first wireless telegraph sent in Columbus is sent from the park to the State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.
• Mystic Castle and Laughing Gallery close to make room for the next Dancing Pavilion.

1907

• Otho L. Hays from the earlier land dispute goes bankrupt and sells his land. The park gains a portion of the land, growing the park to more than 100 acres.
• A fire in July destroys the Theatorium, Photographic Gallery, and Tours of the World in the north end of the park.
• The new larger Dancing Pavilion is completed and opens to the public. It is the largest dancing pavilion in Ohio.
• The Igorrote Village exhibit opens and runs for two years.
• The Gypsy Camp opens featuring Queen Stella, the "genuine gypsy fortune teller."

1908

• The Loop-the-Loop opens as one of the first three operating looping coasters in North America
• The Scenic Temple opens, showing "Battle Scenes of the Republic"
• The Hindoo Mystery replaces Egytpian Mystery in the Colonnde before closing at the end of the season.
• The Infant Incubator opens in the Colonnade and runs for a year.
• The Motion Picture Exhibit is rebuilt.
• The Museum of Ornithology closes after five years of operation. The mounted bird display is purchased by the Audubon Society and was installed in the Sullivant School six years later.

1909

• The park expands in the north to 125 acres.
• The Olentangy Canoe Club holds its first annual regatta at the Boathouse, where there were 22 canoes.
• The new north Midway opens with Arcadia, Automatic Vaudeville, and Love's Voyage. It was built around the Temple of Mirth and just north of the Dancing Pavilion.
• The Shoot-the-Chutes was built at the most northern part of the park.
• Across from the Midway, the Whirlwind coaster, Ocean Wave, and Ferris Wheel were built north of Fair Japan.
• The Panama Canal Exhibit is added to the Colonnade for a year.

1910-1919

1910

• A six-foot (possibly meant 60-foot) cement sidewalk is added that went from the main entrance to the north end of the ravine and a space at the attractions.
• A new automobile and carriage entrance with a fancy gateway entrance is constructed on High Street just north of the ravine. A space at the west end of this driveway is set aside for parking automobiles.
• The Johnstown Flood replaces Automatic Vaudeville and Coney Island replaces Love's Voyage in the Midway.
• The North Bandstand and Merry-Go-Round are added.