Plate, Commemorative
Object number2014.14.1
MediumCeramic; paint
Credit LineGift of Leona Ciptak.
DimensionsCircumference x Diameter: 19.5 × 6.125 in. (49.5 × 15.6 cm)Inscriptions"WEST VIEW PARK / PITTSBURGH, PA".
"VIEWS FROM TOP OF FERRIS WHEEL, / "DIPS," TWIN LAKES, ROW BOATS, / SCOOTA BOATS".
"WEST VIEW PARK / DANCELAND".
"NEW AIR-CONDITIONED / BALL ROOM".
"NIGHT SCENE / CENTER OF PARK".
"VIEW OF TUMBLE BUG / AND RACING WHIPPET".
Historical NotesWest View Park commemorative plate. West View was open from 1906 to 1977 in the North Hills area in West View Borough's valley on Perry Highway/U.S. 19. It was one of many trolley parks in the area, such as Kennywood, that were accessible to streetcar travelers. T. M. Harton, a Pittsburgh native, bought that land and dammed as stream in order to turn what was a swamp into a 5-acre pond called Bellemere Lake, later named Lake Placid. West View Park made its grand opening on May 23, 1906. Harton's company designed many of the early rides including a carousel, mill chute ride called the "Mystic Chute," and a figure eight roller coaster. Another attraction for the park's debut season was an open-air dance hall, the largest dance hall in western Pennsylvania at that time. The original Park layout also included a penny arcade, a pony track, and rowboats on the lake. In 1910 roller coaster designers Erwin and Edward Vettel developed a new innovation in coasters, and by 1910 the Dips was in operation. Since 1981 the West View Park Shopping Center has occupied the old amusement park grounds.
On View
Not on view
1940-1949
1991-2000
