Lanterna Rally

Author: Michael R Virgintino

Publisher: Theme Park Press

Published: 2024-01-20

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781683903406

There's More to the Story of America's Park During the handful of years since the publication of Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History, many employees, their spouses, and their children have stepped forward to share memories and stories about America's Theme Park. Each conversation generated many new questions, leading journalist and author Michael R. Virgintino to explore previously unknown paths where he uncovered substantially more information about the world's largest entertainment center. At this same time, an increased number of newspapers from the 1950s and 1960s have been digitized to reveal additional news and feature articles along with advertisements that showcased the park. The author also obtained hundreds of photographs from the children, teens, and young adults who visited and worked at Freedomland along with three extensive photo archives with more than 3,500 images captured by park photographers. Each image reveals another piece of the puzzle to enhance the Freedomland story. Significant information about Freedomland also has been discovered in museum archives in California, Connecticut, Delaware, and New York. While Freedomland U.S.A.: More Definitive History reprises the roles of people mentioned in the first volume, the book also introduces many other people associated with the park. All of them have assisted the author in his ongoing documentation of Freedomland's history. Several corrections and clarifications of previous assumptions and a few minor errors that appeared in the earlier volume are attributed to new revelations. This narrative, unfortunately, does not alter the outcome for this beloved park. But, the new stories and information provide every park guest with a more complete understanding about Freedomland's creation and operations along with the events that drove the park into bankruptcy to make way for the planned commercial development of the land. The author also reveals many other previously unknown stories that enjoy a special connection to Freedomland U.S.A.