Dixieland Park - Jacksonville, FL
N 30° 19.173 W 081° 39.443
17R E 436800 N 3354377
The former Dixieland Park was located on the Southbank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. It also encompassed the area known today as Treaty Oak Park.
Waymark Code: WM4KMB
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2008
Views: 119
The former amusement park stood in the area of the present Crowne Plaza hotel (which was previously a Hilton Hotel).
Information about this old park is available at JacksonvilleStory.com:
Billing itself as "The Coney Island of the South," Dixieland Park drew hordes of tourists & locals. The ostrich farm sprawled over 30 acres of riverfront property on the Southbank, in the vicinity of today's Hilton Hotel.
The attraction featured a 160-foot roller coaster, a Figure Eight ride, a toboggan, a "laughing gallery," a "House of Troubles," and a large merry-go-round called "The Flying Jenny," which boasted 56 wooden animals. Babe Ruth once played baseball at Dixieland, and the famous bandleader John Phillips Sousa gave a concert. Many movie companies filmed their silent flicks there. These included jungle pictures, which brought elephants, tigers, camels, and horses to the ostrich park.
Indeed, more than just big birds entertained guests at Dixieland & other local attractions. Do any of these appeal to you? -- Alligators, dog & pony shows, lion wrestling, hot air balloons, parachute jumps, comedy acrobats, high-wire performers, & vaudeville acts. On muggy days at Jax ostrich parks, visitors could refresh themselves at a swimming pool and bathing beaches. Dixieland also featured an electric water fountain.
For all of this, the ostrich farms initially charged an admission of 10 cents, or about $1.90 in today's money -- Still a bargain! Some attractions later raised their prices to a quarter, but at about $4.50 in current values, this couldn't have made too huge a difference.
Speaking of money, what would an amusement park be without its souvenir shops? The ostrich farms offered hundreds of trinkets & whatnots to help their patrons relive their action-packed visits. The curios from the big-plumed, big-rumped ostriches included eggs, feathers, & boas (a long fluffy scarf made from feathers).
Dixieland & other ostrich parks faded around the time of World War I. Their exuberant spirit still lives on, though, in such places as Disney World, Sea World, and Busch Gardens.