Memories of West View Park and a Little bit of History

Decades ago if you wanted to have some summer fun and lived north of the Allegheny River, your best bet was to go to West View Park. If you drove through the borough of West View on Route 19, you couldn’t miss the majestic sight of the track bending by the road of the roller coaster known as the Dips. The park opened in 1906 and was started by T. M. Harton.  Mr. Harton leased 18.42 acres in the newly organized borough. The lease stipulated that the land be used “as a pleasure and amusement park” and prohibited “the sale or traffic of intoxicating liquors”.

A trolley line, the Bellevue loop, ran along the side of the park and allowed individuals transportation to enjoy the park. When Mr. Harton was developing the park, he had a problem, as part of the property was swamp. The solution was to turn the swamp into a 5 acre lake called Bellemere Lake (later renamed Lake Placid) and fill it with rowboats. Early rides in the park included the Speed-O-Plane, Merry-Go-Round, Caterpillar, Toboggan and Tumble Bug. You may remember the miniature train, the arcade, and the haunted house known as Boot Hill, the Alpine Sky Ride, Antique cars and the Bat Chute, which replaced the Ferris wheel.

These great rides were bookended by two great roller coasters; the Dips located by the entrance of the park and in the back of the park was the Racing Whippet. The Dips were built in 1910 for $25,000 and the Racing Whippet was built in 1927 for $75,000. The park also had a ballroom that was remodeled in 1947 into the Danceland. The ballroom, during some of the parks rough financial times, actually made enough money to keep the entire park afloat. Our second program of the year is about the memories and history of West View Park.

Our speaker will be Tom Steiner. Tom grew up in West View within the sound of the chain on the Racing Whippet “clinkety-clinking” as it pulled cars up the hill, soon followed by screams from the riders as they plummeted into the canyon that has been replaced by a Giant Eagle. In the 1950s, nobody was alarmed to see kids walking the Dips and the Whippet during off-season, which Tom did regularly. When the season ended forever, Tom once again walked those coasters, photographing them, every inch of the way, from above and beneath. Tom felt like others with his thoughts that “I thought that if I someday made many millions of dollars, I would rip down the shopping center and rebuild the park,” he said. “I had to have some plans for the builders to follow.” Tom never made millions of dollars as a high school English teacher, nor as a newspaper writer, nor as a wedding photographer. So about the only thing left to offer is his slide presentation of photos of the park, his history of how it all started and why it came to an end.

The Cranberry Township Historical Society is having this free program about West View Park on Sunday April 7th at 2:00 pm in the Council Chambers of the Cranberry Township Municipal Center. Tom Steiner will share his passion of the park. As most rides require two per seat, please bring a friend.

Light refreshments will be served. Come enjoy the talk about amusement rides. All we ask is that you buckle your seatbelt, no standing and keep your hands inside the car at all times and please, please hold onto the bar! We will be checking to see if you are bigger than Jeter, so you better stuff some cardboard in your shoes.

Any questions, please call Tom Cully at (724) 776-6551.  See you there on April 7th! Wheeeee!