1919 Season
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| Leadership | Will D. Harris (operating lessee) Will D. Harris Amusement Company Jacob F. Luft (manager) Park Amusement Company Joseph W. and Will J. Dusenbury a.k.a. Dusenbury Brothers The Olentangy Park Company |
|---|---|
| Season | 21 |
Olentangy Park opened its 21st season on Sunday, April 6, 1919. A 12-piece jazz orchestra provided live music for the park's Dancing Pavilion.[1][2] Most of the park opened on Sundays at first with the the theater and the swimming pool opened later in the summer. The park's official opening for daily operation happened on May 25. Admission was 5 cents at first, but doubled to 10 cents ($1.64 cents in 2022 dollars) with Harris claiming it was needed due to the war tax. Children were admitted for free.[3]
There was no musical stock at the theater this season because the new management company believed it would have been too expensive. However, a 15-piece special orchestra played live music for the park.[4]
Change in Management
Will D. Harris was the lessee-operator of the park when it opened for the season. He leased the park from J.W. and W.J. Dusenbury and their company, The Olentangy Park Company, which maintained ownership.[5] The park's operation was taken over by new management, changing the name of the Will D. Harris Amusement Company to the Park Amusement Company in mid-April. The operators involved in the new company included W. N. Ferguson, the president of Cedar Falls Oil Company, as president; and Jacob F. Luft, the treasurer of the Grand, Southern, and Olentangy Park theaters became the manager. Joseph Cleary, a well-known Columbus detective at the time, became the assistant manager.[6] Harris left Olentangy Park to focus on the Grand Theater to expand its motion picture program.[7][8]
Effects of the War Tax
On February 24, 1919, the U.S. Congress passed a revenue act requiring places of amusement to pay a tax on every admission, ride, and attraction ticket. The double in the gate cost to 10 cents was to help lower the need for other ticket price increases. A 1-cent (16 cents in 2022 dollars) tax was added to every 5 or 10-cent sale and a 2-cent tax was added for every 15 and 12-cent sale, and a 3-cent tax for every 25 and 30-cent sale and so on.[9] Harris paid a war tax for the two years prior, but did not raise prices, but felt it was needed for the 1919 season.
Rides and Attractions
Rides
- Caroussel
- Circle Swing
- Electric Express
- Ferris Wheel
- Figure Eight
- Mechanical Autos
- Merry-Go-Round
- Over-The-Top
- Scenic Coaster
- Shoot-the-Chutes
- The Whip
- Whirl Wind
- Ye Olde Mill
Attractions
- The Colonnade
- Fun House
- Museum of Ornithology
- Swimming Pool
- The Zoo
Music and Performances
- Bandstand
- Dancing Pavilion
- Theater
Activities
- Arcade
- Billiards
- Boating - Launches, Rowboats, & Canoes
- Bowling
- Dancing
- Dining
- Fishing
- Fortune Telling
- General Games
- Picnics
- Pony Rides
- Swimming
- Shooting Gallery
Theater Performances
On April 26, 1919, the North High School Thespians performed "Green Stockings," a play by A. E. Mason, at the theater.[10]
References
- ↑ "Park Opens Sunday." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 4 April 1919. Pg. 42.
- ↑ "The Big Park Opens." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 6 April 1919. Pg. 66.
- ↑ "Park Gate Charge Changed." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 12 April 1919. Pg. 12.
- ↑ "Olentangy Open Today." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 27 April 1919. Pg. 78.
- ↑ "Incorporate Park Company." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 16 January 1918. Pg. 9.
- ↑ "Cleary to Aid Luft." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 25 April 1919. Pg. 42.
- ↑ "Olentangy Park Taken Over By New Management." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 18 April 1919. Pg. 1.
- ↑ "No More Musical Stock." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 19 April 1919. Pg. 42.
- ↑ "Park Tax Problem." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch. 13 April 1919. Pg. 56.
- ↑ "Miss Rhae M'Carty." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 25 April 1919. Pg. 38.