The pictures you have are amazing yet also saddening however, they do not do my imagination any justice. Enough of that, we would swim and listen to pop music piped over load speaker systems, it had a three tier diving board, we would dive off the first two but that 3rd one was way up their. My grandfather, Antonio DeRosa, was the park caretaker when my mom was a kid. My favorite ride was the old wooden coaster, not the corkscrew. I truly miss this place. We have been friends for at least fifty years. I was Ok for the first 10 seconds of the ride but terror struck me as the car clicked up the ascent. Rocky Point I am so sad it is no longer. we made alot of friends & they loved going just as much as we did. Now Im 39 and my dad is very ill, which rips my heart apart and makes me cry very easily. My lovely pale green gown got pretty greasy, but, boy, what memories. exspose, stevie B , lil suzy, some 80s rock too ect. Sat, 19 Aug 2023 04:53:12 GMT (1692420792628) As for me [Kathy] my twin [Karen] and our brother Kevin and our beautiful Mom we visited almost everyday. I remember the House of Horrors. The concerts, I rember JANIS JOPLIN for free!! I took several pics, a chunk of painted cinderblock, shed a few tears and was on my way.. Ill post some pics in the very near future. I am so sorry that RP had to close. I remember the game booths, the crazy rides (we didnt have ones like those in Maine) and the people. and if they left a with a good work record thats all you needed. The country and region were becoming more affluent, so the bigger theme parks like Disney were also taking a chunk out of Rocky Points appeal. Never missed a day of school. You can also check out this footage of the coastal theme park to see it in all of its glory before it was shut down. Of course i used to swimn in the pool too. We were there when it was not crowded and I remember sometimes waiting to get in. / All Topics & Tags. They still want all of these law abiding, lovely, many elderly people with nowhere else to go, out of their own houses right away , while they spend the next three years figuring out what they might build. My mom was a school bus driver for Smithfield, and there was a class field trip for either the junior or senior high school students. I worked my first job there, almost everyone in my family did. I miss Rocky Point so much! We flew bombing missions. They had great bands, concerts, and fun rides. I took the ONLY RARE COPY of the 8-Track that went to the rarely seen funhouse that was there at least in the 60s and 70s (when I remember it). ET Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said the . RP just wouldnt work if it were reopened today. The Rocky Point Saga Rocky Point Foundation One of our mothers would drive us to the park, give us couple bucks and would pick us up around 4. My brothers Jerry and Brian worked the midway. This is like losing a childhood friend. RI dosent need more condos. This place is the inspiration behind the movie The Conjuring and the Perron family that lived here claimed to have many paranormal experiences. Its development as a summer resort was praised by the New York Times in 1872, when it was described as "one of the most delightful places upon our New-England coast," a place . Amazing to read this- lots of memories! The next it was free admission again, but the ticket prices were comparibly outrageous. Rocky Point Amusement Park: an Abandoned Amusement Park in Warwick, RI The park, shut down in 1995, was a beloved part of Rhode Island since the 1850s. I miss that tough old bird! Hotel guests could take their kids to the park to bring in more heads. Every one knew about the House of Horrors, but this tape is one of my most treasured pieces that would have been lost or destroyed if I never took it. It was a great place to grow up! I was at the site the other day. My cousin Joe, Bob, Paul, Ed, Bruce, and I spent almost every day either on the midway or at the pool in the summers of 1962-1966. As of 5 p.m. Then the news about the park closing its doors for good confirmed all that we had heard.And then the fires and vandalism that has stricken the park just tears another peice of my heart off along with the news that the idea that housing would be built at the site of the park is in limbo make my pain a little worse.I was against tearing the remaining buildings of the park down but after seeing pictures taken recently I feel that even though a lot of rhode islands residents have very fond memories of "ROCKY POINT PARK" we ther they worked there or just enjoyed a day or weekend there Its time to close the book on this part of rhode island history and finish the job that MINDLESS, THOUGHTLESS VANDALS have started. Martha Hyatts brother was Larry Moreau. Then at an older age it was the Shore Dinner Hall and not the rides. Met loads of other foreign workers and must say it was the best summer Ive ever had in my life. The mayor of Warwick called for the demolition of the remaining structures (including all the midway buildings and the House of Horrors). OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. I was with you all during the late 60s and early 70s and it sure was fun. This would have left a wonderful hole in the park. Rocky Point Amusement Park - Wikipedia I remember the great times at Rocky Point. During those decades generations of Rhode Islanders swam in the salt water pool, screamed themselves hoarse on the Freefall, spun around on the circa 1915 Herschell-Spillman carousel, clung tightly to their dates inside . Follow ArtInRuins on Instagram Like 10 gal of potatoes 5 gals of clams and so on. Then it was the Skee ball. Rocky Point is like a member of my family. Its really nice to be able to share all these feelings we all have about the park. As a young girl in the sixties, I spent many a summer there. All of my friends and both of my sisters worked there too. The tale of the Rocky Point Amusement Park deaths is a chilling story that many have never heard. I worked from 1:00 PM to midnight. It operated from the late 1847 until its close in 1995. . I remember the concerts Ive seen there. i remmber falling asleep thier even, waiting for my ride or dad to pick me up. i remember when they closed the park i was real sad to see it go in the way that it did. When i was a young boy, maybe about 8, my family all went there with my grand parents. My parents owned a cottage on Common Fence Point where we spent our summers. Me and the kids would pull up to the dock by boat and get chowder and clam cakes for many years after that. PDF UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND In re i remember in i belive 94 i was telling my cousins i had to be about 11 about rocky point park and how we needed to take a trip there someday. As many of us can attest, if I stand there, among the weeds, cracks, debris, graffitti, and bits and pieces of our past, Im sure Ill still hear the sound of the Music Express, the girlish screams coming from the Rock-N-Roll, and Im sure therell be a lingering smell of dust, diesel, popcorn and sea air. We absolutely loved the clamcakes So many memories. Well connected cronies will get theri claws into it, and it will be lost forever to us. getting there in the mid afternoon and staying until it was dinner and we would go get some clam chowder at the awsome shore dinning hall that had the most amazing view over the ocean. I myself worked in the office, along with my Dad and my Grandfather, Jeremiah Leake who past away in 1995 after my son Caelan was born. the free fall i went on 99 times know lie either. If i hade the money i would have done some thing with it. Your 2022 guide to great summer food in RI, including can't-miss restaurants, New attraction at Rocky Point: a fishing pier, 22 can't miss food and drink adventures for summer 2022, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy, The menagerie from the amusement park is safe, for now, Plans are to find a new location for the clam shack. I still miss the Rides, Pizza, Popcorn, and Shore Dinner Hall Wanted to grab an old chair i seen laying on the side of the Shore Dinner Hall but i am sure the security guard who sits in his car near the old restaurant probably would stop me from climbing the fence!! I even ran the Whack A mole game when they brought it in. And I could not resist. My first date was there riding the Flume and the Carousel, the Tilt-A-Whirl, the Swing and who could forget the all you can eat Chowder and Clam Cakes. Rest in peace Rocky Point. Rocky Point Park is Not Forgotten | Rhode Tour Why would rhode islanders ever let this happen? I got some autographs there, too. I used to love going to Rocky Point, we went once a year in the summer. Im doing a reflective piece for my daughter and her question is: Tell me about a special outing you had with your Mother and Father? Gone were the days when Dad could sit on one of the benches and read the Sunday Journal while his two young daughters would safely roam the park. What a fun time back in the 30s. It had previously last sold in 2003 for $17 million. We walked by the train tracks and down to where the Wildcat used to be. Working at RP in 88 I worked at Rocky Point way back in the summer of 88. my first kiss ever was in the haunted house! When I saw your web site it made me both smile remembering the fun and sad that the park is no longer there. I remember Nancy LaVoie, Pat Costello and Jerry who were also supervisors. Weve been blessed with two sons, and were lucky enough to be able to take them to Rocky Point before it closed. What I cant understand is that so many of us loved Rocky Point, and I, for one, really wish that Rhode Island had a place like this where I could take my children in the summer time so why did it die? 266 were here. If it wasnt for that place i literally wouldnt be on this earth today my mom and dad actually met in the park my mom was working in the ticket booths when they met. If I close my eyes, I can still see us sitting in the parking lot in the back of Dads El Camino, eating clam cakes and throwing the scraps to the seagulls. The abandoned Rocky Point amusement park in Warwick, Rhode Island, is My parents used it as an carrot to get us to behave, and it worked. I remember my WORST memory of Rocky point was back in the mid seventies. How Rocky Point pool in RI came to host 1936 Olympic swim trials For health reasons I could not ride a bicycle again, even to this day. Next were the rides, my fondest memory had to be my sister and I along with my grandmother in the Scrambler, we all laughed so hard as she was trying to keep from squishing us as the ride went from side to side. I spent only some of my youth at Rocky Point, as it was past its prime during most of my life. The last time I went there was with the Boys & Girls Club in 1995 and it was pretty dead, so all the lines were very short. Loved this park!!! Growing up in Warwick in the 60s was great. I worked at rocky point 89 to 90.I met alot of friends there also.It was fun working there making cotton candy in the stand and working next to the flume. Didnt see a thing until the car stopped. I will be bringing my 9-year old Great-niece to Rhode Island for 4th of July this year (2006), and how I wish it were still there to capture yet another generations photo in the old horse and buggy. Rocky point was a great place to work as a kid. They should give fond memories and bring smiles to faces. The knowledge that Rocky Point is gone and the fate of its property in the hands of greedy soul-sucking developers is bad enough, but I hate that treasuring these memories occurred so belatedly, after the time has already passed to fight for RPs survival. From the 1950s through the mid-1990s, Rocky Point Park was one of the most popular attractions in Rhode Island. We would ride a few rides, then go sit in that big hall and usually eat clam chowder. Also, Rocky Point also had a huge employee theft problem. My sister Maureen was about to get married and reside in maryland. Then the musik Express and boy did it go fast forward and then backwards. These big parks today have none of the charm that Rocky Point had. I can be reached at retailtuna [at] yahoo [dot] com. Guests who stay here say that the ghost of the original owner roams here and that they hear a disembodied womans voice. Mary and Bettys brothers name is Gilbert Morrow. so many memorise and not to mention my first really lovewho i lost because i was young and stupid but i still think of her after 40 years. Later on in the summer of 73 I worked there starting out in the Castle of Terror and ending up on the Crew of the Zyclone. Im 19 now, but in the early 90s my grandparents and much of my family would go to Rocky Point as they had done for years. Ahh, Rocky Point my parents would take me and a slew of friends to celebrate my birthday every year from 1974 through 1981. But in the three years I worked there. I could go on and on but what I wanted to say also was my very first job was at Rocky point at the World Famous Shore Dinner Hall, busboy. Prior to that I used to pedal my bike from Providence just to get there. In operation from the 1840s to 1996, the amusement park was . I can still remember all the dogs names after 32 years! The midway was a great experience to observe and walk, sometimes stepping on a lit cigarette butt barefoot not fully extinguished, ouch ouch, they had rides, penny arcade (yes using real pennies back then) and food vendors, but best of all side shows. Sad to see it go. What a shame to see them go, children will never have those historic experiences in the same way we did. I can remember at the end of the nights in the summer, the counting room for all the money was in the back of the redemption center, after all was counted my uncle (who did the evening drops at the bank) would pull his car up the midway and they would load bag after bag of money into his old dodge until the back of the car almost was dragging to the ground! Dad had an El Camino then and on some days hed let us ride in the back and we would jabber the whole way about which rides we were going to go on, and how we were gonna ram each other on the Bumper Cars, and were we brave enough to finally try the Enterprise? My sister got one to match. Through the 70s and 80s I would visit the park at least once a year and I witnesses many changes including new rides and also a change in the crowd. Carol Strang if you read this i just want to say hello. I also recall Conrad Ferland. Crew chief: Freefall,flume,corkscrew. Location Metadata Top Rocky Point Park is still on many Rhode Islanders' minds. We got our picture taken in one of those booths. Living so close to ROCKY POINT, at ROCKY BEACH was the best. My family had a house at Rocky Beach for about 25 years. I cant recall all the names of people who worked there. The company would have their annual outing at the park. I will always remember the Pool. (as he told me and a couple of other mutual friends). The first year was the most memorable. A few trips, here and there, every year. And finally, the park was simply, and sadly out of date. Anyway, my dad went to the Pokerino one day to change a $20 bill and Jimmy Vogel (Diamond Jim) went with a bushel of bills to change them. Get that first kiss in the house of horrors or enjoy that special Rhode Island treat of clam cakes and chowder. I looked over where they used to have concerts and stand #3 (mexican) where all the concerts were held remembering when I met and saw Debbie Gibbson perform my last year there. We would go to ROCKY POINT as little girls, and sit in her mother, Arteas ticket booth for hours. ArtInRuins (A.I.R.) She would stand on her tippy-toes in a desperate attempt to ride the Corkscrew or Sky-Diver. I was there from 91-95. The Shore Dinner Hall, famous for its clamcakes, steamers, lobsters, and New England clam chowder, seated over 4,000 patrons at a time. I remember coming through the gate, getting our hand stamped by Mr. Ferla or Mr Casciolli(sp?). I will never forget all the wonderful times and people I met at R.P. My moms house still stands and i visit RI every couple of years. I dont want to see what they build on the site if it is not a public park. Mr Ferla also installed a small animal zoo within the park for a few years. Didnt go too well with prom dresses. cool huh? Even with that, I had to practically be restrained to keep me from immediately running back to the rides. In the early 1990s, I can remember my grandmother taking my brother and I to Rocky Point. Youve made 40 cents the previous 2 hours since opening. After the park sadly closed, we bagan taking our children to The Enchanted Forest in Hopkinton for a few years. My fondest and clearest memory of Rocky Point was riding the Corkscrew for the first time. After spending our summers at my Aunt and Uncles House, my parents then bought their own cottage at Rocky Beach about 4-5 years ago. Source, Left-Darth Vader Cart from the House of Horrors ride. I will always miss and remember Rocky Point. More and more people were staying home on summer nights. When Ferla refused to give Dad a 5 year lease on his other 15 concession (Skee Ball, Rocky (bingo for prizes) game, fish pond, hoopla, 3 stuffed animal stands (A1 A2 and A3), Blanket stand, doll stand, lamp stand, knock down the cats, cig/candy, basketball he brought in a tractor trailer and began ride disassembly 1 week before the official opening. The best I have ever had. The Breakers Mansion. Everyone knew who we were, we got away with nothing.The flume water ride was forbidden, to many accidents. Anecdotes Feed. I got alot of people stuck inside, but they would come walking out because it was nearly impossible to get lost in that structure. I really loved working there because I met some really good friends. I loved Rocky Point as a child but as an adult appreciated the public shoreline access even more. The agency held the 123-acre property for proposals to redevelop the site into a summer or year round community. More about A.I.R. My granfather help build the original buildings in the 20s and 30s. The very best house,trance,breakbeat,jungle,and happy hardcore d.js were there, from around the globe. Since it was first used for nature outings in 1847, Rocky Point has been Rhode Island's working-class shoreline resort. I was employed by Rocky Point as a year round empoyee and have some fond memories as well as having met my wife while we both worked for the park. Long live Oakland Beach! Well i pushed the button marked ( N ) the car rolled backwards and towards the midway it stopped after hitting a fire hydrant. The Bells at Brenton Point. Come with your friends. I knew what I had, as soon as I got home I popped it in my old 8-track player and remember exactly what I remember hearing back when I was 4 or 5. She walked around for awhile before her conscience got the better of her and made us quit. Now I live in Western Washington. The Misquamicut business, which opened in 1979, had three types of. When we got older into our teens and my sister got her license, we would go with our friends and then it was all about riding the rides and noticing BOYS! I got to know alot of people. I miss it. It brought tears to my eyes to see her having so much fun. It was no Disney World or Six Flags. It is with great sadness I found out that RP had closed, (I have been away since 1985), and will surely miss those good times, and who could ever forget those luscious clam cakes. It really is sad to see all these pictures of destruction now, I wish someone would rebuild it instead of condos. I wouldnt have to be at work till an hour after everyone else because the cyclone was a major attraction. the fun we had. It was HUGE. My dad Jerry DiCapua and my mom Marie and family moved from Baltimore, MD to Warwick, Rhode Island in 1969-70. Then in 1975 I got my first job there working the "SKOOTER"with a friend as we took turns switching sides alternating from taking the riders tickets to being the guy who showed them the way out after the ride ended and untangling the cars that were stuck in positions that the operator could not get out of themselves. I grew up going to Rocky Point every summer since I was a small child and Im thrilled that I was able to have the opportunity to bring my only child there when he was very little. I wonder why no one ever fixed them. He took care of the arcade games. just hearing all the proformers live was awsome to be hear them, even the 80s rock too. Anyhow, it was a memorable time of my youth that is a shame others will never be able to experiance with the final destruction of this once great place. Kiddie Land was where many a Rhode Island child spent some time. 10 Abandoned Amusement Parks With Horrific Histories - Listverse It still feels unreal that it is gone. It came under the control of Vincent Ferla, among others, and Vincent screwed his partners out of their share. I remember visiting Rocky Point on Sundays. He was reading the want ads in the paper, and pointed to one looking for kids to work the games at Rocky Point. How could the city let this happen to a most beautiful area in the entire state. The joys of the rides and the sounds and then the summer concerts as I became a teenager. The skydiver was fun too!!! He was a good friend and brother-in -law. Rocky Point Park was an amusement park on the Narragansett Bay side of Warwick, Rhode Island. This 100-year-old estate has tours of rooms that are reportedly haunted and is known as one of the most haunted places in Rhode Island. In other words, the real estate market has dropped out. & mind you i always had a way to get one if i could buy one. If you wish to use the picture in the documentary, let me know. I still have that 8-track, and made copys of it in the 8-track format and treasured the origanal, which I still have and still works.
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