Libertyland

Entrance to Libertyland

Libertyland was an amusement park located in Memphis, Tennessee. Opened on July 4, 1976, it was located at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. It was structured under the nonprofit 501(c)4 US tax code. It closed due to financial reasons in 2005.

History

Libertyland opened as an amusement park on the Mid-South Fairgrounds on July 4, 1976. Before then, the fair had operated on the land, including the Coaster Pippin renamed Zippin Pippin with the opening of Libertyland and the Grand Carousel. The city of Memphis decided it was time for a theme park for the city. It opened in 1976 with several rides, including the pre-existing rides that had operated in that place before. The Zippin Pippin was widely popular as it was Elvis Presley's favorite wooden roller coaster. The Grand Carousel was also a classic and was widely appreciated. The park gradually drew in decent crowds over the years, but never made a great profit. It continued to add attractions, such as a steel coaster called the Revolution, and others. During the late 1990s, it added a Top Spin ride, dubbed "Tidal Wave." It was removed later, and in April 2002, the drop tower Rebellion was added. It featured a 90-foot (27 m) drop and drew larger crowds to the park.

Attractions

Libertyland featured around 24 attractions.

  • Bumper Boats
  • Car-Go-Round
  • Casey's Cannonball
  • Dragon Wagon
  • Fun Run
  • Grand Carousel
  • Kamikaze
  • Little Bumper Boats
  • Old Hickory Log Flume
  • Paratrooper
  • Park's Peak
  • Pirate Ship
  • Rebellion
  • Red Baron
  • Revolution
  • Screamer
  • Sea Dragon
  • Surf City Water Slide
  • Tennessee Tilt
  • Thriller
  • Turnpike Antique Cars
  • Twain's Twister
  • Umbrella Ride
  • Wipeout
  • Zippin Pippin

Financial troubles

For many years, it was widely known that Libertyland was having financial difficulties, failing to turn a profit. Few new attractions were being added, and crowds began to diminish. In 2005, it commissioned a firm to redo its image. A new logo was designed and buildings were repainted, but the effort did not bring in enough of a profit, if any, to maintain the park as a viable ongoing operation. Although the operating loss was minimal compared to the tax revenue generated in area around he park by tourist. The city later spent more than the operating loss on a youth jobs creation program to replace the jobs lost by teenagers who worked at the park.

Closure

The park operated its last day for a corporate day on October 29, 2005. In early November, a meeting was called before the Mid-South Fair board of committee to close it. The vote was passed and the announcement was made public. Their reasonings included lack of profit, a steady decline of attendance, and they wanted to extend the midway for the annual Mid-South Fair which operates adjacent to the park's site for 10 days in October. Its closure followed that of Adventure River, Memphis' only water park by less than ten years. The City of Memphis had also closed Bud Boogie Beach in the early 1990s.

Grass Roots Effort

Within days of the announcement to close the park, a group formed to save it. Save Libertyland! fought against Mid-South Fair to keep it open, citing that it drew in hundreds of jobs for the Memphis area teens and was one of the few places for families to spend time there.[1] Several benefits were held to gain support for the movement. The park brought in a few companies willing to purchase it, mainly Joyland, Inc. (T-Rex Entertainment), which was known for buying financially troubled amusement parks and turning them around. Though there was a debate over who actually had rights to the rides since, in reality, the city actually owned some of them. Mid-South Fair did not back down and went on with plans to auction the assets off.

Auction & Post-Movement

Mid-South Fair brought in an auctioneer group and the auction was held on June 21, 2005. Most of the rides were sold, including the Zippin Pippin, which sold for only $2,500. It was bought by a traveling rock museum who only wanted one of the train's cars. Carolina Crossroads later bought it but decided not to move it.[2] It has now been bought by the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, which rebuilt it at their city-owned Bay Beach Amusement Park. The Revolution was bought by DelGrosso's Amusement Park but has yet to be erected as of April 2010. Other rides were dispersed to other locations around the country. The Rebellion was sold to Ghost Town in the Sky and reopened in 2007.

In December 2006, Joyland Inc. made a bold move and sent the city a letter of intent stating their intention of reopening the park, more as a new amusement park on the former site. The deal was to be completed on a three-year lease plan. However, upon viewing it in person, Joyland Inc. pulled out of the deal due to extensive damage including infrastructure damage, wiring, and plumbing.

Future

The future of the park's former site is uncertain, redevelopment plans for the fairground have been presented, but nothing has been set. The Grand Carousel will open in 2017 at the Children's Museum of Memphis close to the old Liberty Land site.

As of January 2010, most of the rides and attractions have been moved, sold, or destroyed and the land is being cleared. The area is now a parking lot and green space known as Tiger Lane, which is used for tailgating purposes prior to University of Memphis football games at the nearby Liberty Bowl.

A disc golf course has been built in its place.

References

  1. ↑ ", Misty J. White - Join in bold re-imagining of fairgroundsThe Commercial Appeal, April 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Elvis' favorite roller coaster, Zippin Pippin, moving to Carolina Crossroads". Carolina Newswire. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2008-01-21.

Coordinates: 35°07′07″N 89°58′57″W / 35.118539°N 89.982447°W / 35.118539; -89.982447

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