| By Kathryn M. White City Lake Quinsigamond developer Horace H. Bigelow started building White City in 1904. On June 17, when the park didn’t open as advertised, on of the people waiting to get in broke down the door, and by 8:00pm 5,000 people were waiting outside the gate with money for tickets. At 8:30pm another door was broken down and everyone went into the dance hall. The house band started playing, but the police arrived and ordered the music to stop and threw everyone out of the park. The park wasn’t opened because the temporary power plan would not work. It would ruin the slogan of “Fifty Thousand Electric Lights” if there were no lights at all. The park did open the next day, June 18. The park had many rides and attractions including “Shoot-the-Chutes”, one of the parks most popular rides. It also housed a “Miniature Railway,” a train five feet long and 28 inches high. It pulled miniature passenger cars and used miniature pieces of coal and ran on miniature tracks. Another favorite ride “Whirl of Air Ships” or “Circle Swings” gave passengers a ride, “Overland and lake without the dangers of the real affair.” Looking over the park was “King Dodo”, a huge clown shaped structure. His legs framed the entrance to “King Dodo’s Palace” or “The Foolish House.” It was similar to today’s fun houses. It had amusements such as the “Sea on Land” which had floorboards that moved and rocked as a person walked along. There also was a hall of warped mirrors called the “Laughing Gallery.” Most people would go to the “Picture Gallery” to have their picture taken and transformed into a postcard. The Japanese Tea Garden offered a quiet place to get away from all the commotion. On the Boardwalk or “Pike” people could play games of skill and chance and stop for a snack or a drink. At the park there was a place for picnicking called the “Forest of Aden”. There were the “Custer Cars,” little go-kart type vehicles powered by small gasoline engines. White City also had its own boat called Miss White City that took sightseers on trips around Lake Quinsigamond. The 1906 season featured high wire acrobats. Acts came from all over the country to perform at White City. A popular attraction was diving horses. The horses would go to the top of a rig, kneel down on their front legs and dive into the lake. A special feature at the park was the “Green Dollar Girl”. White City’s management hid money or “green dollar signs” that could be worth up to $100 around the park. If a patron noticed the “Green Dollar Girl” with the green dollar sign they would ask her, “Are you the girl with the green dollar sing representing White City?” If the answer was, “Yes,” the luck patron would have to reply, “It belongs to me,” before receiving the prize of twenty dollars in gold. Horace H. Bigelow lived long enough to see the reality of his dream, but died in 1911, six years after his park opened. Ownership of the park changed in 1927 when George Hamid decided to take over the park and bought out the other partners. He added a giant roller coaster called “The Zip” to replace an older ride. During the 1928 season a special event was held. The Worcester County Beauty Pageant was held in White City. The winner was Miss Antoinette Guald, a girl from Shrewsbury. The White City Amusement Park handled the Great Depression as well as could be expected. It provided jobs for many people during the depression. In the early 1930’s the “Pretzel” ride and the “Red Bug” were added to the park along with a miniature golf course. In 1931 the Spanish Village Ballroom was updated to host dance marathons in the park. Just before the opening of the 1939 season, a huge fire destroyed the deck of the dance hall. Shrewsbury Fire Chief Edward Logan blamed it on a mentally deficient person. Many things were bought from the “Worlds Fair” in New York and installed in the park over the next few years. A roller skating rink was added and later became a bowling alley. New rides such as “Loop the Loop” were added. There were also many stories of an alligator that was housed in the park, escaping into the lake. The alligator caused panic around the lake. After the panic died down, a dead alligator’s body was found in a wooded area near the roller coaster. During World War II the park was a place for war weary people to get away from the troubles of war. For the Service men at home, the park was a favorite. . In 1954 White City was bought by a real estate developer from New York, Irwin Knohl. Problems arose when Irwin’s father Larry Knohl took over because Larry had served time in prison for embezzlement and was questioned in the 1951 slaying of Murder, Inc.’s Albert Anastasia. They installed pinball machines in the arcades. There was controversy over it, but in the end the pinball machines stayed. In 1955 the Bigelow estate was purchased for the park. It added 8 ½ acres to the park for picnic grounds, a 2000-foot beach, and additional parking space. Also in 1955 plans for rebuilding some of the attractions began and there was also construction of a new roller coaster. The roller coaster would be 2480 feet long and have a 73-foot drop. Before the coaster could be completed seven new rides were installed. Among the stars that appeared at White City over the years wer Bobby Darin, Edie Gorme, Paul Anka, Jerry Vale, The Four Coins, The Four Aces, Tony Bennett, The Crew Cuts, Frankie Avalon and television personality Doug Mar. On Labor Day, 1960, the White City Amusement Park closed forever. The rides and buildings were auctioned off on November 1, 1961. Although the Trolley lines shut down on December 31, 1945, the parks stayed open long after that. The trolley parks created memories that will be cherished for generations. |
| Worcester's White City |
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