Mountain Park’s midway vanished, but one of its most loved rides still carries children in Holyoke.
Mountain Park, on the slopes of Mount Tom in Massachusetts, grew from a nineteenth-century trolley destination into a family amusement park. It closed after the 1987 season. Most of the old attraction disappeared, while its rescued carousel found a new home at Holyoke Heritage State Park.
That makes this a story with two locations: a former mountainside pleasure ground and a working reminder of it downtown.
A trolley ride into the countryside
Mountain Park developed during the 1890s, when street railway companies had a reason to create destinations beyond their regular commuter routes.
A pleasant place at the end of a line could attract riders on days when they were not traveling to work. Gardens, scenery and entertainment turned transportation into part of a day out.
The Holyoke Merry-Go-Round’s history dates the park’s opening to 1894. The setting offered views and access to Mount Tom, with a cable railway later carrying visitors toward the summit.
This early park was not simply a smaller version of a modern coaster resort. Its appeal included the journey, the landscape and the chance to spend unhurried time outdoors.
More than rides on a hillside
Holyoke’s Canal Days history project describes the park’s changing mix of animal attractions, theater and amusement rides.
That variety matters. A family could go for entertainment without every member wanting the same experience.
Theater became an important part of the site’s cultural life. The Holyoke Public Library’s Valley Players collection preserves records connected with performances at Mountain Park.
A collection of playbills or production records offers a different view from a photograph of a roller coaster. It brings actors, audiences and backstage work into a place often remembered only for its midway.
The park was a leisure business, but it was also a workplace and a stage. Those overlapping roles helped it become familiar to people across the region.
The midway remembered in postcards
The featured postcard shows Mountain Park around the 1930s. Red roofs and paths sit below the white structure of a wooden coaster.
It is a period promotional image, with the color treatment typical of its format. It should be read as an archival view, not as a modern photograph.
The specialist history of Mountain Park’s funhouses describes another side of its appeal. Under the Collins family, the midway included several funhouses and dark rides.
These attractions relied on surprises, changing scenes and the fun of going through with someone else. Their memory often survives in tiny details that a broad aerial picture cannot capture.
Why the park’s last season matters
Mountain Park’s final amusement season was in 1987. The carousel organization’s history describes the owner’s decision to close and the subsequent sale of rides.
A public television documentary preserved by the American Archive of Public Broadcasting records memories of the park and the shock of its ending.
The final season did not arrive with a long farewell that every visitor could plan around. For many people, an ordinary last visit became a goodbye only afterward.
Following closure, structures deteriorated or were removed. A Massachusetts resource-management plan documents the former park site and the loss of its amusement facilities.
The surviving landscape cannot reproduce the old midway. Even where a fragment remains, understanding it requires photographs, maps and records.
The campaign to keep a carousel close to home
The carousel, installed for the 1929 season, faced a different future.
John Hickey and other Holyoke supporters organized a campaign to save it. The owner agreed to a local sale, giving the community a chance to keep the ride together.
The National Carousel Association’s fundraising resource preserves material from that effort, including the campaign’s appeal to local supporters.
A farewell ride at Mountain Park drew thousands. Schoolchildren, businesses and volunteers all contributed to the broader rescue.
The result was more than a collection of individual horses. Keeping the whole machine intact preserved the moving, musical experience that had made it special.
The restored ride reopened downtown in December 1993. A new pavilion gave it shelter and a public setting where another generation could discover it.
Visiting Mountain Park’s legacy today
The clearest public destination is the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round. Check its current calendar for operating days, special events and ride information.
It is located at Holyoke Heritage State Park, separate from the old mountainside amusement grounds. Use the carousel’s current directions rather than an old Mountain Park listing.
For historical research, contact the Holyoke Public Library’s history room about relevant collections and access arrangements.
Do not assume the former amusement property is open for wandering. Nearby public recreation land and privately controlled parcels have different boundaries.
The 2024 photograph of pillars along Mountain Park Road records a remaining trace in the area. It is not an invitation to climb or explore structures.
A ride downtown offers a more generous ending to the story. Mountain Park could not be saved as a whole, but the community preserved something people can still experience together.
Frequently asked questions
When did Mountain Park close?
Its final amusement-park season was in 1987.
Is the original midway still intact?
No. The rides and most structures were removed after closure.
What happened to its carousel?
A community campaign saved it, and it reopened at Holyoke Heritage State Park in 1993.
Can you still ride it?
Yes, during the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round’s advertised operating hours. Check its current calendar before visiting.
Image credits
Featured image: C. W. Hughes (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons. A colorized postcard of Mountain Park’s midway and wooden coaster, circa 1935.
Body image: John Phelan (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
