Freedomland U.S.A. (often shortened to Freedomland) was a theme park dedicated to American history in the Baychester section of the North Bronx in New York City, United States. Freedomland was built on marshland owned by the Webb and Knapp company, of which William Zeckendorf Sr. was the major owner. Zeckendorf announced his plans for Freedomland in May 1959. The park, conceived and built by C. V. Wood, consisted of over 40 attractions arranged in the shape of a large map of the contiguous United States. Groundbreaking ceremonies for Freedomland occurred in late 1959, and Freedomland opened to large crowds on June 19, 1960.
Because of Freedomland's $65 million construction cost, the park faced financial issues; by the end of the 1961 season, Freedomland had $8 million in debt. To generate revenue, the park added more exhibits and conventional amusements. By 1963, further financial issues led the owners to sell off a portion of Freedomland's site to a pension fund of the Teamsters, as well as close off a section of the park. Even though Freedomland's planners anticipated that the park would eventually be developed into a full-time amusement area, Freedomland closed permanently at the end of the 1964 season, filing for bankruptcy on September 14, 1964.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, part of the Freedomland site was redeveloped as the Co-op City housing development. The Bay Plaza Shopping Center was built on another part of the site. Many Freedomland attractions and design features were auctioned or sold to other parks, and many of these rides no longer exist. While little physical evidence of Freedomland remains, several media works commemorate the former amusement park.
Creation Freedomland was conceived and built by C. V. Wood, a Texan who had worked in the planning, construction, and management of Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. After Disneyland's opening, Wood's relationship with Walt and Roy Disney became strained because of various disputes, and he was ousted from Disneyland management by early 1956. He soon became involved in the creation of other amusement parks across the United States under his company Marco Engineering. Wood had devised plans for an American-history theme park as early as 1957, in conjunction with Milton Ted Raynor, who later became president of Freedomland Inc. The new theme park would be themed entirely around American history, in a more historically accurate version of the Disneyland layout, which initially included four distinct areas: Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland.
Site
Two consultants at Marco Engineering performed a feasibility study for the location of Wood's proposed American-history theme park. By late 1958, Wood had pitched his American-history park concept to the Webb and Knapp development company. Early the next year, a site was selected: a portion of a plot owned by Webb and Knapp in the northeast Bronx section of New York City. The site, in the Baychester neighborhood, was a former municipal landfill, originally marshland fed by Rattlesnake Creek and the Hutchinson River. This led to a profusion of mosquitoes during certain periods of the year. The International Recreation Corporation (IRC) was incorporated in Boston in April 1959 to oversee development of a park there.
Webb and Knapp's principal owner, William Zeckendorf, announced the plans for Freedomland on April 30, 1959. Webb and Knapp subsidiary National Development Corporation (NDC), along with IRC subsidiary Freedomland Inc., were created to operate and manage the theme park. Wood and IRC president Peter De Met announced further details of the proposed park at a press conference that May. According to Wood and De Met, the park was to cover and would fit up to 32,000 visitors. About would be developed for the park itself, and would house parking, maintenance areas, and other service areas. There would also be a 12,000-spot parking lot and a 600-room motel. In mid-1959, Freedomland Inc. leased the site for 50 years. IRC issued about one million shares, which were then sold to NDC and Freedomland Inc. The IRC offered 580,000 shares to the public in July 1959 at $17.50 per share, and the stock offering was quickly oversubscribed; this raised $17 million. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the park was to pay an annual rent of $600,000 for the first five years, $750,000 for the next ten years, and $1 million thereafter. Wood presented further details for the park to Zeckendorf and his son William Zeckendorf Jr. later the same year.
Construction A groundbreaking ceremony for Freedomland was initially planned for July 4, 1959, coinciding with Independence Day, but ultimately occurred on August 26, 1959. The ceremony featured a helicopter ride over the premises for the park's backers, special New York City Subway train for attendees, and various performances. Fifty bulldozers, representing every U.S. state, were exhibited at the groundbreaking ceremony. Despite these lavish preparations, only 19 members of the public attended the ceremony.
Over the next months, more than 2,000 workers were hired, mostly by the two major contractors, Turner Construction and Aberthaw Construction. Work was completed within just under 300 days. Some of land were excavated to create of canals. Land was raised by up to to create the park's natural-looking features. Billboard magazine reported that the park was to have between 33 and 35 rides on opening day, as well as more than 80 commercial tenants who funded the construction of their own attractions. Major contractors were hired to furnish the props and attractions, including flat-ride manufacturer Arrow Dynamics, souvenir manufacturer Enco National Corporation, concessionaire The Brass Rail, and sternwheeler manufacturer Todd Shipyards. Frederic V. Schumacher was hired as the park's general manager in September 1959. In addition, Ellington and Co. was hired to manage advertising for the park, Sylvester Weaver Jr. oversaw radio and television coverage of the park, while Douglas Leigh was hired as the park's lighting consultant. Allen Hixon was hired in early 1960 to design the park's layout.
The construction contractors had finished the foundations of 15 structures by November 1959. The park's construction was facilitated by mild weather during the winter of 1959–1960, and forty-two buildings were in various states of completion by February 1960. On March 24, six small unfinished buildings were destroyed by fire and were razed; this did not affect progress on the rest of the park. The burned structures were reused as props for Freedomland's Chicago Fire attraction. Freedomland's opening was originally set for June 1, 1960. Advertising agent Edward Weiner wished to invite politicians such as the administration of U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower; all members of the U.S. Congress; the governors of all 50 U.S. states; and United Nations delegates to the park's opening. The opening was postponed to July 1 so the park could be ready for the expected crowds, then rescheduled again to June 18 due to high excitement generated by the marketing campaign. Journalists were invited to preview the park on April 28, 1960, and the park's managers arranged for the popular TV series The Ed Sullivan Show to be broadcast from there on June 18.
Opening When announced, Freedomland was supposed to cost $15.5 million, funded by Freedomland Inc.'s stock issues. The final cost was significantly higher, at $65 million; the land was valued at $30 million and the scenery another $33 million. The eateries comprised another $1 million of the cost. The actual theme park consisted of of the 205-acre site leased by the IRC. Prior to opening day, Freedomland launched an aggressive advertising campaign. The first phase, targeting the 10 million people living within of New York City, consisted of daily advertisements in the city's newspapers, radio and TV stations, and subway cars. Advertisements were found as far away as from the Bronx, and several contests and promotions for Freedomland were held in the greater New York City area. Several advertising taglines were devised for Freedomland, including "The World's Newest and Largest Outdoor Entertainment Center", "The World's Largest Entertainment Center", "The World's Largest Family Entertainment Center", and "The World's Largest Outdoor Entertainment Center". Marketers also used the generic slogan "A World of Fun for Everyone", but they discarded another tagline, "Freedomland is fifty states of happiness!". A promotional Freedomland jingle was developed.
On June 18, 1960, Freedomland was dedicated with a ceremony in front of the Chicago-themed railroad station; about 25,000 people attended the dedication, which raised funds for local youth programs. The following day, June 19, the park officially opened. To draw more visitors, Freedomland started a second advertising campaign on that day, targeting ten major populated areas within a radius of . People lined up to get into the park two and a half hours before its official 9:00 a.m. opening. Pat Boone cut the ribbon at 8:30 a.m., and by noon, radio announcers were warning people not to go to Freedomland because of severe parking shortages and overfilled parking lots. By 2:05 p.m., Freedomland stopped selling tickets due to traffic jams on highways and local roads leading to the park. Ultimately, the park recorded 61,500 visitors, one-third less than the expected maximum capacity, and closed at 9:00 p.m., three hours before its intended closing.
On opening day, one security guard was quoted as saying that the drinking fountains were non-functional, the restrooms were few and far between, the concessionaires were poorly equipped for operation, and many exhibits were not yet painted or decorated. The park had a much smaller crowd on its second day of operation when it had an average of 15,000 visitors throughout the day. Satellite City and the Chicago Fire were not operational until a few weeks after opening day, the former due to "electrical difficulties". In total, Freedomland was only 85 percent complete at the time of its opening. Parts of the original proposal, such as a Freedomland Inn and a movie studio, were never completed. Admission was on a sliding scale between $0.50 and $1, based on age group. Members of the United States Armed Forces paid 75 cents. The admission fee only covered entry to the park; each of the 35 rides had an additional surcharge of 10 to 50 cents. Patrons could also buy coupon books for nine rides, which cost between $2.50 and $3.50. At some point during the first season, adult admission was increased to $1.50.
Areas and attractions
Under Wood's leadership, Freedomland's designers created a history-themed concept, divided into seven themed areas based on the history of the United States. Each section featured attractions, shops, and restaurants fitting that section's theme. The layout resembled a large map of the contiguous United States and was designed like a movie set. As guests entered from the parking lot, they walked into Little Old New York of the 1890s. Baychester Avenue and the New England Thruway at the park's western edge approximately represented Freedomland's border with Canada. The designers added decor such as vintage building advertisements and a night-lighting system. Freedomland's attractions on opening day were significantly different from what had originally been planned. Of the 16 areas and attractions announced in an August 1959 press release, 12 were operating on opening day, some of which were themed to a completely different time span than in the original plan. As conceived, the park also focused on history from a narrow era, between roughly 1850 and 1900.