Origin and grand opening In the wake of the successful grand opening of
Riverside Amusement Park in
Indianapolis (1903), local residents Edward H. Rentsch and Minnie E. Wilson joined
Milwaukee resident Richard Kann in a partnership that submitted corporation papers for the Wonderland Construction Company in November 1905. Their stated mission was to "organize, promote and carry on pleasure resorts..." and to build and maintain "buildings, structures, appliances, machinery, and lawful devices adapted thereto, and to carry on and furnish lawful amusement at such resorts". By the spring of 1906, construction of a park was started at the eastern edge of Indianapolis, near Irvington (which was later
annexed by Indianapolis). The site, at the corner of East Washington and Gray Streets, covered two city blocks that once contained a baseball field. The park had its
grand opening on a rainy May 19, 1906, with 8000 customers braving the elements (it took two hours to admit the crowd). Admission cost ten cents per adult, five for each child. The park's signature -tall Electric Tower and
scenic railroad greeted the crowds a week before the season's opening of Riverside Amusement Park and the grand opening of another nearby
trolley park,
White City, at a time in which the amusement park business was booming in the United States. Following the leads of the earliest
Luna Parks (
Coney Island,
Pittsburgh, and
Cleveland), Wonderland's grounds were bathed in the light of about 50,000 light bulbs. The park also employed a 100,000 watt
searchlight. A
shoot the chute ride similar to that of the park's rivals proved popular, as did a
funhouse ("The Third Degree"), a circle
swing ride, A
skating rink also proved popular, as did the
arcade and the restaurants. Live entertainment quickly became Wonderland's chief drawing card, from the trick
motorcyclists to bands,
acrobats,
vaudeville acts, to a display of
Igorot people from the
Philippines (advertised as "a visit from the Igorrote tribe"). The park's elephant mascot bathed in the shoot the chute lagoon, delighting many patrons. The exhibits and attractions changed almost constantly, even in Wonderland's first year of operation. The week of June 10, 1906, saw the arrival of Kann's War Airship (named after one of the park owners, Richard Kann), built in Indianapolis and temporarily moored at the park. Visitors viewed it for free in its
aerodrome; it took brief flights, once in the morning, one in the evening, over the park each day while it was on exhibit.
1907 The year 1907 saw the arrival of
equestrian acts and King Bill, touted as "the greatest trained bull in the world". King Bill made headlines when it was spooked by a blown band instrument, jumped off the platform upon which it was performing, and landed in the crowd. A new
band shell adorned the park in Wonderland's second season, and a monkey house was built for 48 new
simian acquisitions (following suit, Riverside Amusement Park added their own monkeys later that year). The acrobats and
aerialists returned to Wonderland in 1907, including an
albino aerialist (White City had another albino aerialist perform on it grounds shortly afterwards). Stunt bicyclists (which became a popular sensation at the time) replaced stunt motorcyclists on the performing stage. In addition to the acrobats, live entertainment at Wonderland frequently included animal acts. The aforementioned monkeys, horses, and Big Bill were augmented by trained lions,
ostriches,
alligators, and elephants in 1907. The three parks had drawn a combined one million patrons in 1906–1907. Increasing costs of construction of new rides and attractions, coupled with an increasing need to advertise, eventually forced a change of ownership of Wonderland. The Wonderland Construction Company gave way to a new publicly owned corporation, the Wonderland Amusement Company; the officers include Indianapolis resident E. I. Fisher (also the president of Capital Paper Company) as president of Wonderland, Frank M. Talbott (Indianapolis Basket Company), A. Lehman (Indianapolis Paper Box Company), and park general manager Frank M. Wicks.
Capital stock was issued in an effort to maintain profitability.
1908 The new ownership wasted no time in upgrading Wonderland, adding eight attractions in 1908. In addition to a new restaurant, the "Flatiron" proved to be an instant success as the new building offered "human squirrel cake", and trick floors, carpets, and ceilings (the Flatiron was advertised as a "show" geared to those who wished "harmless excitement with a touch of terror". New features include "
Brewster's Millions" (inspired by the popular novel by
George Barr McCutcheon), "Ray's Manikans", "The Tickle", "
Battle Royal", and the "Old Swimmin' Hole". The initial reaction to the new attractions kept the park's precarious finances hidden as rival parks found new ways to preserve the bottom line. White City also introduced new attractions and finished its construction of a huge swimming pool (covering two acres, it was scheduled to open June 27); Riverside Amusement Park sharply reduced its construction and advertising costs, opting to rely upon the rides it had the previous year and
showcasing "the world's largest
steer". The night of June 26, 1908, Wonderland's competition lessened as White City was destroyed by fire. Only the swimming pool, scheduled to open the following morning, was left: it had its grand opening the following week (July 4, 1908). The same day, Wonderland had its largest attendance in its history for its annual
Independence Day festivities. Such a turnout encouraged the ownership to develop expansion plans, some of which were
leaked to the public in the latter months of 1908... including that of building a
beer garden. When the plans were officially announced (March 1909), Wonderland was embroiled in controversy unlike any it had encountered before.
1909–1911 Flush with the success of 1908, ownership moved forward with expansion plans for Wonderland, moving eastward toward
Irvington, an Indianapolis suburb (since merged into the larger city) that
prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages within its city limits. By mid-March, the already-wary neighbors became alarmed when the
rumored plans for a new
beer garden on the newly extended park property were confirmed. On March 23, a petition drive by a
coalition of area
mother's groups ("Send a Petition to Wonderland") was reported by the
Indianapolis News. The mother's groups, assisted by members of various regional
temperance groups, requested that Wonderland withdraw its application for a liquor license and asserted that the detrimental effects of liquor would not only adversely affect those who would attend the park but also those who "would no longer patronize the resort". The contretemps did not help the park's attempt to battle a national trend of declining amusement park traffic. By the middle of the 1909 season, attendance had become so poor that the park no longer maintained a full-time operating schedule. Eventually, the park would open only for "special events" in which various organizations would rent the grounds and equipment for private parties. In 1909–1911, the primary patron was the International Interdenominational County Fair, with the proceeds of the festivities benefitting the Summer Mission for Sick Children, a local charity. The fair's organizers were responsible for promotion, stating in its ads for the 1911 fair that Wonderland had newly renovated its shoot the chute and scenic railway rides.
1911 police raid The 1911 International Interdenominational County Fair started positively, drawing the park's largest crowds since 1908 for the first three days. The sixth day of the fair was overshadowed by a police raid of the German Village. The park had been "teasing" the public about a new attraction, the "Blind Tiger," for weeks. Peter B. Trone, manager of the about-to-be-opened attraction, stated to the local media that his establishment would be the only "wet" place in the park (despite not having a licence to sell alcoholic beverages). Knowing that "blind tiger" was code for an establishment that sold alcohol illegally, the Indianapolis Police Department conducted a raid of the premises on its opening day, August 17, 1911. Trone thwarted the raid as he delayed the police entry as the bartenders hid the illicit beverages as the customers drank
ginger ale chasers and then mopped their lips. After finding insufficient evidence to arrest anybody in the facility, the police promised an additional raid should the "Blind Tiger" remain in business. The day was a success, and the Colored Pythians held a celebration and left the park before the gates had closed at 11:00 pm. Less than two hours later, the park's
night watchman observed flames and notified the local
fire department. One half-hour later, the first
fire truck arrived as the merry-go-round and the shoot the chute were already burning. By 3:00 am the park was completely involved in flames. By dawn, the firemen had put out the last of the fire, but virtually everything in the park was destroyed, and Wonderland would never reopen. Authorities assumed that the fire was sparked by a discarded cigarette. ==References==