ONTARIO
Burlington
NO PART OF THE FOLLOWING
MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT
PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR ©
This park was located only five kilometers south of Burlington Beach on Van Wagner's Beach Road near Beach Boulevard. It was owned by John Sebo whom designed four out of the six rides located there. The main features were an aerial tram and a pool, which still exists today. At some point Sebo sold four rides to the E.G.& J. Knapp Company, which owned rides & arcades at a number of Canadian parks. They were an original "Tilt-A-Whirl" (refurbished with an updated top), a Sebo ride called The "Lil Rocket" (not to be confused with the Herschell ride of the same name) and two Eyerly "Roll-O-Plane" rides. Knapp ran the "Tilt-A-Whirl" and "Lil Rocket" at Burlington Beach.
John Sebo's grandson, Kevin Schnurr, lives in Burlington, Ontario. He recalls: "I remember countless hours spent in the pool and at the amusement park. I also spent a lot of time at Mr. Knapp's amusement site as well, only to find out that they had had a few feuds. I'm sure deep down they were friends because I remember some of the rides being swapped back and forth to each other's sites."
John continues: "I believe that some of my grandfather's rides still exist. I'm sure his tram is at the Canadian National Exhibition. Hopefully, it still bears his initials, JFS on the side."
Although the rides were removed in 1980, the operators often have rides brought in for certain occasions by Big A Amusements, of which some workers are former employees of Burlington Beach and Lakeland Pool. The pool is still there but requires constant upkeep due to its age. It was closed for the first time in 41 years for repairs in summer, 2001.
Plans unveiled in October of 2001 called for a community center to be built and for the original pool to be replaced with an eight or ten-lane, 50-meter long, enclosed olympic pool. It would have a spectator gallery capable of holding 300 to 500 people. Many see this as the revitalization of the Lakeland park area.
| Park suggestion and initial information are courtesy of Frank Ryan in Hamilton, Ontario. |
Return to the
Closed Canadian Parks Index
