Overview

"Billed as Boston's answer to Disneyland, Pleasure Island opened on June 22, 1959. William Hawkes, president of Childlife Magazine, and executives at Cabot, Cabot and Forbes collaborated with Marco Engineering of Los Angeles to build what was called the ""Disneyland of the East."" Pleasure Island rose from the wetlands off of Route 128 into an 80-acre theme park. Through photographs, Pleasure Island recalls memories of boat rides to Pirate Cove, searching for the great white whale, driving a Jenney car, getting dizzy in the Slanty Shanty, and taking a ride on Old Smoky. At Pleasure Island, children and children at heart entered into a world that traditional amusement parks could not provide, where character actors continually put on a show and the entire park was the stage."

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9780738564609

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Title: June 22, 1959 - Pleasure Island Opens in Wakefield, Massachusetts <br>Author: Cherie Bowers <br>Publisher: Asssociated Content <br>Date: 6/22/09 <p><br>On June 22, 1959, a half of century ago, the doors finally opened for the anticipated Pleasure Island 80-acre theme park in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Pleasure Island was located just off Route 128 at the Salem Street exit, which was only fourteen minutes away from the heart of Boston. Many people were very excited when they saw the advertisement in the Comic Section of The Boston Sunday Globe newspaper on Father's Day, June 21, 1959. The advertisement was very attracting and displayed a sign and a map of Pleasure Island to catch the attention of many people including a phrase you will have a whale of a time visiting Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island opened up fifty years ago today at 10:00am in Wakefield, Massachusetts that became known as the Disneyland of the East. <p><br>William Hawkes who was president of Childlife Magazine, executives at Cabot, Cabot and Forbes came together with Marco Engineering of Los Angeles and created the marvelous theme park that was called Pleasure Island. The theme park had live characters that were constantly performing live shows all around the entire park. There was a carousel, Treasure Digging Island, water buffalo land and sea ride, space rocket, boat rides to Pirate Cove, driving a Jenney car, and much more. <p><br>If you do not know what Pleasure Island is or have never been or just want to relive the memories, the Friends of Pleasure Island website is a non-profit organization that you can view the attractions, images, memorabilia, performers, stories of people who visited Pleasure Island, and much more. The website is very interesting and you can get a better understanding of the great Disneyland of the East theme park and really feel what Pleasure Island was all about through photos and stories. <p><br>In honor of the 50thB

Title: June 22, 1959 - Pleasure Island Opens in Wakefield, Massachusetts <br>Author: Cherie Bowers <br>Publisher: Asssociated Content <br>Date: 6/22/09 <p><br>On June 22, 1959, a half of century ago, the doors finally opened for the anticipated Pleasure Island 80-acre theme park in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Pleasure Island was located just off Route 128 at the Salem Street exit, which was only fourteen minutes away from the heart of Boston. Many people were very excited when they saw the advertisement in the Comic Section of The Boston Sunday Globe newspaper on Father's Day, June 21, 1959. The advertisement was very attracting and displayed a sign and a map of Pleasure Island to catch the attention of many people including a phrase you will have a whale of a time visiting Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island opened up fifty years ago today at 10:00am in Wakefield, Massachusetts that became known as the Disneyland of the East. <p><br>William Hawkes who was president of Childlife Magazine, executives at Cabot, Cabot and Forbes came together with Marco Engineering of Los Angeles and created the marvelous theme park that was called Pleasure Island. The theme park had live characters that were constantly performing live shows all around the entire park. There was a carousel, Treasure Digging Island, water buffalo land and sea ride, space rocket, boat rides to Pirate Cove, driving a Jenney car, and much more. <p><br>If you do not know what Pleasure Island is or have never been or just want to relive the memories, the Friends of Pleasure Island website is a non-profit organization that you can view the attractions, images, memorabilia, performers, stories of people who visited Pleasure Island, and much more. The website is very interesting and you can get a better understanding of the great Disneyland of the East theme park and really feel what Pleasure Island was all about through photos and stories. <p><br>In honor of the 50thi

Author Information

Robert McLaughlin is a Wakefield resident with an interest in local history. He has been researching Pleasure Island since 2000 and is cofounder of the Friends of Pleasure Island, which was established to collect images, film, oral history, and artifacts relating to the park. He has selected images from private collections and the Friends of Pleasure Island's archives to tell the story of Wakefield's own Disneyland of the East.

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