More Old Kennywood Postcards

Last post, we looked at the first set of my Kennywood postcards, so we're taking a glance at the rest of the good ones now.

The spelling of "Pittsburg" with no 'h' at the end dates this card of the park's Old Mill from before 1911, as it was between that year and 1890 that Pittsburgh was spelled that way. It's a long story. The Old Mill is arguably the oldest attraction at Kennywood, undergoing a wide variety of re-themes over 100+ years. It is scheduled to hopefully return under its original name for 2020.

"Dear Bertha: How are you all? I suppose you think we have forgotten you, but that would be impossible. We have moved now, and want you all to come up. Tell Aunt Mag and Mary to come along. Would like to see you all. Write soon."

The Old Mill was demolished and rebuilt in 1926, so the image shown here is not the current building.

 "Not to visit Kennywood is not to know Pittsburgh" is stated on the back of this card, even though Kennywood isn't technically in Pittsburgh! It's actually in West Mifflin, just outside of the city, but I get what they're trying to say here.

This card is my favorite, with its bright design and colorized illustrations. I would guess 1940s on its date. Looking clockwise, we have the Tower refreshment stand and the Sportland games building, both of which have been replaced with different structures but still serve the same purpose. You can see the miniature railroad entrance in the far background. Next is the Penny Arcade, which sadly has a newer building and facade now; but once again, it's still an arcade! The picture at the bottom is of the park's lagoon, which was once used for circus acts. Today, it's the loading area for a "Skycoaster" attraction. You can also glimpse the station of the park's wooden Racer coaster in the background.

Moving a little later on in time, we come to a Kennywood's 1986 Ferris wheel, the Wonder Wheel.

In 2001, the Wonder Wheel was replaced by Aero 360, a spinning, upside-down ride. George Ferris, the man who invented the first modern wheel, lived in Pittsburgh for many years, so it's unfortunate that the park no longer has a Ferris wheel of its own.

This verdant card shows paddle boats on the park's lagoon. Boats of some sort have been a fixture at Kennywood since its opening day. 

In 2019, the bridge and the lagoon area of the park as a whole were changed with the addition of Steel Curtain, a new roller coaster. I love the ride, but it unmistakably sticks out as out-of-scale in this area of Kennywood.

Steel Curtain has the most inversions out of any North American coaster, with nine.

Raging Rapids, which pumps 110,000 gallons of water a minute are through its trough, was added in 1985. The waterfall shown here is now no more, due to someone suing the park because he claimed he got an "eye-eating parasite" from it. No comment.

This card shows some of Kennywood's kiddie rides, mainly the Lil' Phantom kiddie coaster, which holds a special place in my heart, as it was my first coaster. The "Dumbo" (officially named "Elephant Parade") and "Red Baron" rides shown along the bottom are the exact same in execution, and Kennywood added a third variant of this system in Thomas Town in 2018. I guess that they're just trying to pretend to be Magic Kingdom...

Last for today is my final antique postcard, although it's not of Kennywood but of Pittsburgh's other major amusement park, West View. This view shows a roller coaster, the carousel, a bandstand, and the pony track. West View Park closed in 1977.

"Dear Paul, I am writing you a few lines to let you know that I am well. I am working full power. I am in Ambridge, Pa. I am sending my best regards to the family. My address is 814 - 18th St. Ambridge, Pa."

I hope that you've enjoyed this compilation of classic Kennywood postcards!