Babb's Beach Amusement Park - Suffield, CT
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 01.849 W 072° 44.985
18T E 686275 N 4655647
The former Babb's Beach Amusement Park is located on he east shore of the middle pond of Congamond Lake in Suffield.
Waymark Code: WMD8Z0
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 12/06/2011
Views: 3
The Babb's Beach Amusement Park was a 7 acre beachfront family owned property. The park opened in 1898. It had a beach and bathhouse and, in 1930, a 11,000-square-foot roller skating rink which doubled as a dance floor was added.
The park was in a rural area several miles from the nearest urban centers of Springfield, MA and Hartford, CT. It offered patrons a swimming beach, with bath house facilities, on Lake Congamond, a roller skating rink and dance hall which featured major acts during the Big Band era, boating - including rowboats, outboard motor rental, canoes, and sightseeing boat rides. They also had covered and uncovered picnic facilities, a snack bar, a playground and a ballfield. The indoor Playland area offered shooting galleries, bowling machines, record making machines and photograph machines.
Nelson Babb donated the 7 acre property to the Town in 1977 but had an agreement with the Town of Suffield to continue to operate the skating rink. For a while the town operated a recreation program at the beach, until budget issues caused cutbacks. The rink was close in in June 1996 and the property fell into disrepair. Currently there is a community effort to restore the property.
Street address:
435 Babbs Road
Suffield, CT United States
County / Borough / Parish: Hartford
Year listed: 2006
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1950-1974, 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic function: Recreation And Culture
Current function: Vacant/Not In Use
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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