A defunct Pittsburgh amusement park that has frequently intrigued me is the National Amusement Park formerly located in the Harmarville/Blawnox section of Pittsburgh. What is particularly interesting about this park isn’t just that it existed, but more that it appears to have disappeared without much of a trace.
The first mention of the park is in 1927 when a contest was held to name a new amusement park operated by the Harmarville Amusement Co. The winning name, Harmarville Park, was suggested by 18-year-old Duane Barbour of Oakland who received a cash prize. Ten additional winners received season passes.
There are brief mentions of the park in 1928 with classified ads for male, teenage employees, as well as an advertisement for fireworks.
A significant ride at the park was the large Ferris Wheel which has been featured in some of the few pictures of the park that exist. A 1928 newspaper article discusses a promotion for the Ferris Wheel.
The Thunderbolt Roller Coaster
By 1929, the park was going by the name National Amusement Park. Sometime between the opening name contest and 1929 apparently a name change occurred. This is also one of the first mentions of the park’s rollercoaster, the Thunderbolt. The article states that the ride was reconditioned and redecorated for the 1929 season.
Also new for the 1929 season was a new dance hall and a ride called “The Scrambles.”
Details about the Thunderbolt are scarce, but we do know that it was a John Miller-designed coaster. It was dubbed as the “speediest in existence.” Like many of Miller’s designs, the coaster was designed to traverse the ravine, dropping into the ravine shortly out of the station. It was possibly similar to former Cascade Park’s Comet.
Fatal Roller Coaster Accident
In 1929, a fatal accident occurred at the park involving the Thunderbolt. Twenty-three-year-old Edna Wingrove stood up going down one of the coaster’s drops. Charles Deemer, seeing what was about to occur, stood up in his own seat and pushed Wingrove back in her seat. However, at that moment, the coaster went around a bend throwing Deemer to the ground. By the time attendants and police reached Deemer, he had succumbed to a skull fracture according to the article.
Wingrove also suffered a skull fracture and a broken arm when she was thrown against the guard rail. It is unclear if Wingrove recovered from her injuries.
National Amusement Park Catches Fire
In 1930, disaster struck the park. A newspaper article reports a significant fire sweeping through the park, damaging 15 buildings on the midway. The fire originated in the Bingo stand, burned several midway buildings including the bowling alleys, before jumping to the other side of the midway. The article states that the fire “partially consumed” the roller coaster, but spared the dance hall and adjacent dog track.
However, a Pittsburgh Press article contradicts this, stating that the firefighters pumped water from the Old Mill ride, exhausting the ride’s water supply, but the roller coaster was spared from the flames.
Urban legend states that it was the family of Deemer that started the park’s infamous fire in retaliation for the death, but this was never proven.
End of the National Amusement Park
In 1932, a classified ad stated that buildings at National Amusement Park were being “wrecked” and building materials were for sale.
In 1935, another classified advertised “new dodgem building material” at the old National Amusement Park.
The 1935 classified is the last mention I can find of the park, leaving unanswered questions such as “Did the park ever reopen after the fire?” and “What eventually happened to the roller coaster?”
I’m also left wondering if the 1968 transformation of John Miller’s Kennywood’s The Pippen to the Thunderbolt was a nod to the original John Miller Thunderbolt? Unfortunately, many details of this past coaster have been lost to time.
