This Rare Footage Of A Connecticut Amusement Park Will Have You Longing For The Good Old Days

Savin Rock Amusement Park, nicknamed White City, was established in West Haven in the 1870s. You could take the ferry here, where a walk down a 1,500-foot pier would deliver you to a day of fun. The amusements at this place were literally endless. Or at least it felt that way. A mile-long midway featured roller coasters, carousels and water chutes. In addition to this were fun houses, bumper cars and plenty of carnival food stalls.

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As you can see from this postcard, Savin Rock Amusement Park was once a bustling place, drawing families from all over the state. It's cool to see how much the state has changed, along with the people in it. But there's more!

By 1919, the park was attracting over a million yearly visitors! But it quickly went downhill from there. The park could no longer expand, due to the residences that had popped up around it. The trolley was going out of style. Fire had struck twice, which was costing the park money and drawing doubts about safety. After the Great Hurricane of 1938, the park rebuilt for the last time, and by 1966 it was closed for good.

Watch this video to see rare footage of the park, along with personal accounts of how much fun this place really was!