By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Buffalo’s biggest and most lusted-after amusement parks were heavily advertised in the pages of The News 110 years ago.
Buffalonians older than 40 are likely to remember dreaming about Crystal Beach themselves. Buffalonians older than 70 might even remember riding the steamers Canadiana and Americana to get there.
You’d be hard pressed, however, to find a living Buffalonian who remembers the big amusement park that was within city bounds.
Carnival Court, later known as Athletic Park, was a Crystal Beach-like experience but was only a streetcar’s ride away, at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street. A fire destroyed much of the park, and it was torn down and replaced by a Sears & Roebuck store. That Sears building still stands as Canisius College’s Science Hall.
