Ludlow Lagoon
The Ludlow Lagoon amusement park operated from 1895-1917. The park had an 48 acre fairground and an 85 acre lake with 5 islands. The Park was inspired by the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The Park included a clubhouse, 3,500-seat theater, dance hall, one of the first electric merry-go-rounds, boathouse, swimming beach, 5,000-seat motorcycle track, one of the first roller coasters designed by the father of the rollercoaster Lamarcus Thompson, and a 2 mile raised car track, It was reported that over 11,000 people would visit the park in a single day.
Re-creation of the Ludlow Lagoon Amusement Park – Video of the 3D Digital Model
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The Ludlow Historic Society has created a 3D re-creation of the Ludlow Lagoon Amusement Park.. The LHS was able to combine current information from LINK-GIS mapping with a 1909 Sanborn map of the park. By making the two maps the same scale and matching up with the two buildings that are still standing, the LHS was able to accurately overlay the two maps. This information was used to create a 3D model in Sketch-up software. This file is the exported animation. The LHS plans to continually make the model more detailed.
The Ludlow Historic Society would like to thank Andy Corn, Corey Mai, Wade Hart, Josh Michaels, and Andy Fetzer for helping create the model. The Ludlow Historic Society would also like to give credit to the following organizations for allowing the LHS to use their images.
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History of the Ludlow Lagoon
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In 2024, the Ludlow Historic Society partnered with History In Your Own Backyard to produce this video telling the story of the Lagoon with a number of historic images.