Lotus Isle Amusement Park was an amusement park that operated from 1930 to 1932 on Tomahawk Island in Portland, Oregon . Known as the "Wonderland of the Pacific Northwest", Lotus Isle was located just east of the more successful Jantzen Beach Amusement Park . Lotus Isle spread out over 128 acres (0.52 km) and at the time was Portland's largest amusement park.
17-532: Lotus Isle Amusement Park opened on June 28, 1930 after a group of investors realized the success of the nearby Jantzen Beach Amusement Park . At the time of its opening, Lotus Isle was the largest amusement park in Oregon. The park consisted of forty attractions including bumper cars , a rollercoaster , and a dance hall called the Peacock Ballroom. On August 28, 1930, an eleven-year-old boy drowned at
34-658: A low-flying stunt plane. The elephant, which had previously rampaged through Sedro-Woolley, Washington , eventually ended up in Seattle 's Woodland Park Zoo . On August 24, 1931, almost a year after the drowning and Platt's suicide, the Peacock Ballroom burned to the ground. The park operated once more in the 1932 season before going into bankruptcy, after which liquidation of the park property began. 45°36′39″N 122°40′26″W / 45.610945°N 122.673984°W / 45.610945; -122.673984 Jantzen Beach Amusement Park Jantzen Beach Amusement Park
51-648: The Portland Electric Power Company . Logus and Smith headed the Hayden Island Amusement Company and they built an amusement resort and tourist park named Jantzen Beach Amusement Park for one of the park's investors, Carl Jantzen, of Jantzen swimsuit fame. The door opened to the public on May 26, 1928. It surpassed all attendance expectations; over 30 million people patronized the park through its 42 years. On opening day, Saturday May 26, 1928, 15,000 people paid
68-556: The United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas . The amusement park's popularity peaked during the 1940s. In the late 1950s, attendance declined while the commercial value of the land increased. The park closed on Labor Day, 1970. The pumping system from the swimming pools remains installed, and is used to pump drinking water to the residents of Hayden Island. The Jantzen Beach Carousel , also known as
85-436: The $ 0.10 admission. The following day, 25,000 people came out to the park. The amusement park included a merry-go-round, fun house, Big Dipper roller coaster, Golden Canopy Ballroom, four swimming pools, a natatorium , 25 acres (10 ha) of picnic grounds, and 15 acres (6.1 ha) of parking. The C.W. Parker carousel , built in 1921, was moved to Jantzen Beach in 1927. Some of the hand carved horses were made by inmates of
102-534: The C.W. Parker Four-Row Park Carousel, was installed inside the Jantzen Beach Mall , a shopping mall located on the grounds formerly occupied by the park, and it operated there from 1972 to 2012. However, it was removed in 2012 for the reconstruction of the shopping center, and it remains in storage as of 2016 . The carousel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 but
119-484: The Jantzen Beach SuperCenter, Jantzen Dynamic Corporation, also announced that a free-standing Target would be going in at the former Barnes & Noble site, and that the then-existing Target store and adjacent wing of the mall would be permanently demolished. In April 2012, center managers Edens & Avant Realty Inc. announced $ 50 million in renovations that would begin that month and finish by
136-546: The Lotus Isle beach after slipping from a ladder beneath the park's main diving board. Edwin F. Platt, the park's owner, committed suicide the day after the drowning. Platt "spent a fortune" in constructing Lotus Isle, which cost between $ 500,000 and $ 600,000. According to The Oregonian , finances were given consideration in the inquiry following Platt's death. Business at the park had not been as brisk as its investors had hoped for, and it experienced "internal discord" such as
153-481: The discharge of its manager, T. H. Eslick , who later sued the park for violating the agreement whereby he was brought on as manager. For the following season, a promoter named Al Painter took over management of the park, and created a "Dance-A-Thon" event in the park's Peacock Ballroom, which held room for 6,600 dancers. During this time, John Ringling sold Lotus Isle a temperamental bull elephant named "Tusko" who soon destroyed several pavilions after being spooked by
170-569: The mall was left intact with three anchor stores and a newly created food court. These renovations cost $ 38 million and expanded the center to 800,000 square feet (74,000 m ) as well giving it the name of Jantzen Beach SuperCenter . In December 1996, MBK Northwest sold the 70-acre (28 ha) center for $ 76 million to a Michigan-based pension fund that Compass Retail, Inc. advised on the sale. The mall features approximately 30 tenants, including three anchor stores: Burlington Coat Factory , Ross Dress for Less and Target . The Target building
187-461: The middle of 2013. By the time of the 2012 renovations, the mall's name had changed back to Jantzen Beach Center . The new Target store opened in October 2012. The renovations were to include the vintage carousel, but by June 2015, long after completion of the work on the mall, the carousel had not been returned, but remains in storage in a building on the shopping center property. By 2017,
SECTION 10
#1732802028807204-587: The site of the former Jantzen Beach Amusement Park which operated from 1928 to 1970. The C. W. Parker carousel , built in 1921, is the only surviving ride from the amusement park and was located inside the mall by the food court until 2012. One of the mall's early anchor stores , a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m ) Liberty House which was that chain's first store in the Portland area, opened in November 1973. An 84,000-square-foot (7,800 m ) Kmart store
221-580: Was a popular amusement park from 1928 to 1970 in Portland , Oregon , on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River . "The Coney Island of the West" opened on May 26, 1928 as the largest amusement park in the nation, covering over 123 acres (50 ha) at the northern tip of Portland. In 1927, William A. Logus and Leo F. Smith purchased 40 acres (16 ha) of land on Hayden Island from
238-513: Was added in 1977. The Liberty House store later operated as Frederick & Nelson from 1979 until 1984, The Crescent until 1988 and Lamonts from then until 1994. In 1995, MBK Northwest acquired Jantzen Beach Center for about $ 18 million. About two-thirds of the mall was demolished in 1995 and 1996 including the former Lamonts wing, a cinema and around 150 small stores to make room for big box development which includes The Home Depot , Barnes & Noble and Toys "R" Us . The east wing of
255-441: Was largely torn down in 1995–96 for big box development. The remaining enclosed portion included Ross Dress for Less , Burlington Coat Factory and Target as its anchor stores until April 2012, when renovation work began. A new one-story Target store was constructed on the property over the site of a former Barnes & Noble bookstore and restaurant, opening in October 2012. Jantzen Beach Center opened September 28, 1972, on
272-710: Was previously occupied by Montgomery Ward until 2001, and the Burlington Coat Factory store had replaced the Kmart, which closed in 2003. The mall's owners announced further renovation plans in July 2010. Preliminary redevelopment plans would include the demolition of the remaining enclosed portion, as well as the area around the existing Barnes & Noble store. On August 23, 2011, Barnes & Noble and Starbucks both announced that they would be shuttering their stores for good by September 2, 2011. The owners of
289-445: Was removed in 2008. 45°36′47″N 122°40′55″W / 45.613°N 122.682°W / 45.613; -122.682 Jantzen Beach Mall Jantzen Beach Center is an outdoor shopping mall located in Portland, Oregon , on Hayden Island in the Columbia River , known as Jantzen Beach SuperCenter from 1996 until about 2012. Opened in 1972 as an indoor mall, sometimes known informally as Jantzen Beach Mall, it
#806193