Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-scale attraction parks, easily accessed, potentially addressed to the permanent or temporary residential market, and located in the suburbs or even near the town center. Luna parks mainly offer classic funfair attractions (great wheel), newer features (electronic displays) and catering services.
History The original Luna Park on Coney Island, a massive spectacle of rides, ornate towers and cupolas covered in 250,000 electric lights, was opened in 1903 by the showmen and entrepreneurs Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy. The park was either named after the fanciful airship Luna, part of the new park's central attraction A Trip to the Moon, or after Dundy's sister.Dale Samuelson, AJP Samuelson, and Wendy Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park Coney Island's success with electronic attractions and rides also inspired a proliferation of parks named Electric Park (Samuelson, Samuelson, Yegoiants, The American Amusement Park). Luna Park was a vastly expanded attraction built partly on the grounds of Sea Lion Park, the first enclosed amusement park on Coney Island which closed down due to competition from nearby Steeplechase Park.
In 1905, Frederick Ingersoll, who was already making a reputation for his pioneering work in roller coaster construction and design (he also designed scenic railroad rides) borrowed the name when he opened Luna Park in Pittsburgh and Luna Park in Cleveland. These first two amusement parks, like their namesake, were covered with electric lighting (the former was adorned with 67,000 light bulbs;Jim Futrell, Amusement Parks of Pennsylvania (Flagpole Books, 2002) the latter, 50,000Luna Park's luminary: Entrepreneur/roller coaster designer deserves his due – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 2008). Later, in 1907, Charles Looff opened another Luna Park in Seattle, Washington. Ultimately, Ingersoll opened 44 Luna Parks around the world, the first chain of amusement parks. For a short time, Ingersoll renamed his parks Ingersoll's Luna Park to distinguish them from the Luna Parks to which he had no connection.Robert Cartmell, The Incredible Scream Machine (Popular Press 1987) Ingersoll's death in 1927 and the closing of most of his Luna Parks did not stop new parks from taking the name.
Today, the term luna park or lunapark is a noun meaning "amusement park" in several languages, including Indo-European languages such as Polish, Italian, Russian, Croatian, Czech, Serbian, Bosnian, Slovenian, and Greek (, ),*"lunapark" in Polish-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015 "lunapark" in French-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015 "lunapark" in Dutch-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015 "λούνα παρκ" in Greek-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015 as well as Turkish,"lunapark" in Turkish-English dictionary: retrieved February 2, 2015 Hungarian, Hebrew (לוּנָה פַּארְק, but the term גן שעשועים lit. 'park of amusements' is also widely used), and Yiddish.
List of Luna Parks
In Africa Name Location In operation Notes Luna Park, CairoMagda Baraka, The Egyptian Upper Class Between Revolutions, 1919–1952 (Garnet & Ithaca Press 1998) Heliopolis, Egypt 1911 to 1915 The first in Africa and the Middle East.Yasser Elsheshtawy, Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope in an Urbanizing World (Routledge 2004) On January 19, 1915, the buildings and grounds were converted into Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Luna Park for World War I.Peter Rees, Other Anzacs: Nurses at War 1914–1918 (Allen & Unwin 2009) The hospital was closed on July 10, 1916. Luna Park, Obala Obala, Cameroon
In Asia
Name Location In operation Notes Luna Park, Abha Saudi Arabia ? to present Part of the Abha Palace complex Alanya LunaparkOfficial site - Alanya Lunapark Near Alanya, Turkey ? to present Luna Park, Baku Baku, Azerbaijan 2000 to 2005 Luna Park, Beirut Beirut, Lebanon 1966 to present Luna Park, Bombay Mumbai, India Designed and built by Ingersoll Bostanci Lunapark Bostancı, Turkey 1983 to present Eski Lunapark Near Balıkesir, Turkey ? to present Kültürpark Lunapark Konak, İzmir, Turkey ? to present Girne Lunapark Karşıyaka, İzmir, Turkey ? to 2010 Mersin Lunapark Mersin, Turkey ? to present Lunapark, Nazilli Nazilli, Turkey ? to present Sincan Lunapark Sincan, Turkey ? to present Bolu Lunapark Bolu, Turkey ? to present Luna Park, Larnaca Larnaca, Cyprus ? to present Now known as Lucky Star Park Luna Grand Park Haifa, Israel 2001 to 2013 Closed after five months due to poor attendance following a religious boycott and reopened after negotiations with the local religious community.Luna Grand Park listing in Roller Coaster Database showing reopening of park Closed for good on October 31, 2013, to make room for a new cinema. Luna Park, Tel AvivTwenty evacuated from stalled roller coaster – rideaccidents.com Tel Aviv, Israel 1970 to present The Luna Park was located in Jaffa from 1953 to 1970, when it was relocated.אבאל'ה בוא ללונה פארק. ביפו, אתר המועצה לשימור אתרים Luna Park, Hong Kong – Gwulo: Old Hong Kong North Point, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong 1949 to 1954 Amusement park, cinema and nightclub complex Luna Park, Osaka Osaka, Japan 1912 to 1923 Also known as Shinsekai Luna Park Luna Park, Tokyo Tokyo, Japan 1910 to 1911 Burned down in 1911Sakutarō Hagiwara and Robert Epp, Rats Nests:The Collected Poetry of Hagiwara Sakutarō (Yakusha, 1993) Miodrag Mitrasinovic, Total Landscape, Theme Parks, Public Space (Ashgate Publishing 2006) Luna Park, Tehran Tehran, Iran 1970 to 1980 Reopened in 1988 as Shahr-e Bazi; closed 2007 to make room for new highwayPart of Tehran Funfair Will Become Women's Park – Iran-Daily June 26, 2006 Luna Park, Yerevan Yerevan, Armenia 2000 to present
In Europe
Name Location In operation Notes Luna Park, Aidonakia Athens, Greece 2001 to present Constructed by Ingersoll. Also known as , 'the little nightingales'. Fantasia Luna Park Near Faliraki, Greece 2003 to present International Luna Park Near Athens, Greece ? to present Luna Park, Brent Cross London, United Kingdom 2020 to Present Luna Park, Berlin Berlin, Germany 1909 to 1933 In its time, it was the largest amusement park in EuropeClaudia Puttkammer/ Sacha Szabo: Gruß aus dem Luna-Park. Eine Archäologie des Vergnügens. Freizeit- und Vergnügungsparks Anfang des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. WVB, Berlin, 2007, (in German)Luna Park, BrusselsBrussels, Belgium1912 to 1914 Luna Park, CologneRegina Dahmen-Ingenhoven and Kristin Feireiss, Animation: Form Follows Fun (Birkhäuser 2004) Cologne, Germany 1909 to 1927 Luna Park Hamburg-Altona Hamburg, Germany 1913, and again 1917 to 1923 Luna Park, Leipzig Leipzig, Germany 1911 to 1932 Luna Park, Saint-Brieuc, France Saint-Brieuc, France 1982 to present Located in the Brézillet area of Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor, FranceLes manèges de Lunapark à Brézillet Luna Park, Cap d'AgdeOfficial site: Luna Park Cap d'Agde (in French) Cap d'Agde, France ? to present Luna Park, FréjusFrench Fun Park Bans the Electric Chair – Der Spiegel Online, August 22, 2008 Fréjus, France ? to present Luna Park, La Palmyre La Palmyre, France ? to present Luna Park, ParisOrder – Time (magazine) February 16, 1931 Paris, France 1909 to 1931 Luna Park, Argelès-sur-MerArgelès-sur-Mer, France? to present Luna Park, Nice Nice, France ? to present Luna Park Funfair Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom ? to present Luna Park, GenevaRoland Fuller and Allen Levy, The Bassett-Lowke Story (Taylor & Francis, 1984) Eaux-Vives (in French), City of Geneva 2007 Le Parc des Eaux Vives alongside Lake Geneva, Switzerland 1912 to 1918 Luna Park, L'Escala L'Escala, Spain ? to present Lunapark, Łódź Łódź, Poland Closed January 2016 Near Władysławowo, Poland 2006 to present Luna Park, OdesaOdesa, Ukraine? to present Luna Park, Rome Rome, Italy ? to 1930s Designed and built by Ingersoll LunEurEntry in Roller Coaster Data Base – closed April 2008 Rome, Italy 1953 to 20082016 to present Luna Park, Milan Near Milan, Italy 1965 to present Name was changed April 11, 2004 to Luna Europark Idroscalo MilanoHistory of Luna Euro Park (in italian) Luna park na Výstavišti Prague, Czech Republic 1960s to present Luna Park, MoscowHistory of Moscow parks – Carrousel.ru (official site) Moscow, Russia 1993 to present Officially called "Luna Park Carousel". Luna Park, St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, Russia May 1912 to 1924 Luna Park, Skopje Skopje, North Macedonia ? to 2022 Luna Park, BucureștiBucurești, Romania1920s-1936First amusement park in Romania, it also had the 1st and only true roller coaster in the country. Demolished in 1936 to make space for a department store. Luna Park, Liseberg Gothenburg, Sweden2022 to presentArea in Liseberg theme park in Sweden, includes rides like Luna, Tempus, and Turbo.
In North America