The "Old" Elitch Gardens

The old location of Elitch's is no longer recognizable as the former site of a beloved amusement park. When you drive by 38th and Tennyson, you will see townhouses and what only some recognize as the old Opera House. Trees have been cut down and new ones installed. There is no expanse of parking lot on the western edge. There are brand new buildings for living and shopping.

I would go to Elitch's at least three times every summer, even when I was getting too old for it to be 'cool'. I felt that I had to; it was part of my summer, like visiting grandparents. The trees were grand. The buildings were older. The music suited the rides. The ride and building placement flowed in a familiar, small town simplicity. It smelled like the first day of a traveling carnival, even in August.

The laughter and the roar of the roller coaster were the first things that greeted you at the western gate. The original main gate was at the north-east corner, where you entered through the calm, garden-like mini-golf course and you could see the carousel ahead. The sound of the bigger rides were not as loud and penetrating here.

Maybe once every three years did they change or add a new ride, and it was installed BEFORE the season started. We would wait to find out what were, if any, the changes for this years. I had a sister who was a rides operator and another sister that worked in the games area. They both enjoyed the work and the camaraderie of the other employees for three seasons. Most other employees returned each year as well.

Elitch Gardens started out as true gardens. You could stroll through beautiful floral arrangement, or sit under a large tree for afternoon tea. Awhile later, they added a small zoo. If you had been to the amusement park in its last decades, you could see the grates in the ground: those were the 'vents' for the animals in the winter months.

The new location of Elitch's is nice, but it is just not the same. The trees are wrong. There isn't a skyride. There is not a classic feel to the place. I truly love amusement parks and I still go to Elitch's on occasion, but it's not the park I hold in my heart as MY Elitch's.