[StBernard] Emailing: NO_Pontchartrain_Beach.htm

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Mon Aug 20 16:52:43 EDT 2007







Memories of Pontchartrain Beach

"At the Beach"







The construction of the art deco style bath house, 1941; a ramp connected it
to the swimming pools.







Pontchartrain Beach at its first location,
where it remained from 1928 to 1939, when it moved to the area where the
former resort town of Milneburg had once stood.







The new Pontchartrain Beach Midway - 1940























At the beach, at the beach, at Pontchartrain beach,
You'll have fun, you'll have fun, every day of the week.
You'll love the thrilling rides, laugh til you split your sides,
Atttttt....Pontchartrain Beach!







Where can I begin? To those who didn't grow up in New Orleans during the
time that Pontchartrain Beach was in its heyday, no amount of description
could convey its significance or the wealth of memories associated with it.
To those who did...no words are really necessary.
But I'll give it just a very condensed try. Pontchartrain Beach first
opened its gates near the intersection of Robert E. Lee Blvd. and Bayou St.
John in 1928 (just a stone's throw from the old Spanish Fort Amusement
Park). In 1940, it moved to the Lake at Elysian fields, where the old
resort community of Milneburg once stood. And from 1940 until it closed in
1983, Pontchartrain Beach was the summer fun destination of choice for New
Orleans children, teenagers ... and their parents, too. You could swim,
wade or build sandcastles on the man-made beach; swim in one of the three
pools; take a chance at a game of skill in the Penny Arcade; enjoy the
wide variety of rides - the Zepher was the hands-down favorite, a roller
coaster of serious proportions - or the Ragin Cajun, the "Wild Maus," the
Ferris Wheel - what a beautiful view to behold from the top of the Ferris
Wheel at night, looking out over the lake and the lights of the midway! -
the Bug, the Tilt-o-Whirl, the Haunted House, Bumper Cars, Laff-in-the-Dark,
Flying Horses or dozens of others; and for the little ones, there was
Kiddieland, complete with a Junior Zepher; or you could stake out a choice
spot to watch the famous stage shows (Elvis even performed there once!);
but, if you were in the mood for something more "elegant" than hot dogs and
cotton candy, you could have dinner in the Tiki Room of the Bali Hai
Restaurant. Or, maybe, do all of the above!
Whichever you chose...it was guaranteed to be fun.
The day its season closed every year was guaranteed to be sad. And the
day it closed for the last time in 1983 was the saddest day of all. --
<mailto:vintage_nola-site at yahoo.com> Nancy Brister
~~~~~~~~~~~~


























Back to <http://www.thepastwhispers.com/Old_New_Orleans> Old New Orleans
<http://www.geocities.com/twincousin2334/Old_New_Orleans.html>
New Orleans: Pictures from the Past

<http://www.thepastwhispers.com> The Past Whispers - Home




At the Beach
Note the kid in the photo on the right, in a silly pose for the camera.
This is one of those embarrassing photos your mother shows off to your new
boyfriend when you're a teenager...and you're absolutely mortified.
(She did. I was. :-)


































































~~~~~~~~~~~~




The old Milneburg Lighthouse, also, known as the Port Pontchartrain
Lighthouse, was constructed in the lake just off the south shore in 1838 in
the resort town of Milneburg. This is the spot where Pontchartrain Beach
was eventually built (the area having, long ago, been annexed by the city
of New Orleans). Milneburg was popular among the city's residents in the
1800's and early 1900's; it contained many houses, or camps, built on piers
over the water. In the 1930's, the levee board did a reclamation project
and the Milneburg camps were destroyed, as what had been water, became land.
However, the lighthouse survived and turned into a popular landmark when the
amusement park was built around it. By the way, this lighthouse was the
only one on the Gulf Coast to remain staffed during the Civil War. To read
more of this lighthouse's interesting history,
<http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=807> click here.


1940 - About the time the beach opened; notice the Milneburg Lighthouse,
still in the same spot, but now located on land and on
the amusement park's midway.







The Old Milneburg Lighthouse stood at the entrance to Kiddieland and was a
popular meeting place for visitors at the beach, as was the clown head in
the photo above.




The Zepher


"55 Years of Fun, 1928 - 1983"




The old Milneburg Lighthouse as it is today, fallen into a state of serious
disrepair...
waiting for someone to rescue it from its apparent fate.
It rests on property now owned by the University of New Orleans. As far as
I can determine, they have shown no interest in preserving this historic
landmark.


























LINKS:
<http://www.walkerpub.com/radio_memories_beach.html> Bob Walker's Memories
of Pontchartrain Beach - He has a sound clip of a WTIX radio commercial with
the jingle!
<http://www.bennygrunch.com/pontchartrain_beach.html> Benny Grunch has a
diagram of the beach on his website...all the rides, games, food and even
the animal trash cans...I can still see every detail!

Another historic lighthouse: The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation has
begun efforts to rebuild the historic "New Canal Lighthouse" that was
virtually destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
<http://www.saveourlake.org/lighthouse.htm> Click here to read the history
of the New Canal Lighthouse and find out how you can help with this
important work.







The lighthouse when Milneburg was still there.




View from the lighthouse after the reclamation, but before the amusement
park was built.


Another view of the lighthouse after the camps were destroyed, but before
the reclamation.

setstats1





_____

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