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Remember When - Palisades Park



Right around the first day of Summer (June 21st) most schools in the State were emptied of teachers, books, and children.  What DID parents do when there were no video games to entertain?

I’m sure we all have some memories of hot summers in the sprinkler, at the beach, eating Italian ice, sitting on the curb with a frozen Turkish Taffy.  Those were the days of the day trip.  Remember when the family would hop in the car, cooler in the trunk for one of the day trips that were sometimes educational (Trailside Museum in Watchung Reservation), sometimes cultural (diving horses at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City), and sometimes just plain fun (the beach/boardwalk)?
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I recall  a magical evening of just plain fun at  the iconic Palisades Amusement Park on the Hudson.  The view from the ferris wheel was spectacular!  The  idea of a ride on the roller coaster was a bit too  much for me to consider, however, my brother felt compelled to keep dad company.  He thoroughly enjoyed the ride and then lost his dinner.  I was ever so glad that I opted not to join them!

Palisades Amusement Park was situated on 38-acres above the Hudson in Cliffside Park/Fort Lee.  The park first opened in 1898
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1898 –1908 was a trolley park known as the  Park on the Palisades.; in 1908, it was sold and the new owner brought in  a Ferris wheel, diving horses and a baby parade; two years later, in 1910 the park was sold again and renamed Palisades Amusement Park.  Along with the new name, came new attractions, and the largest salt water wave pool in the nation, complete with a waterfall and one foot waves.
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What was it about Palisades Amusement Park that made it one of the most popular amusement parks in the country?  The park opened in 1898 and operated until September of 1971. Maybe the fact that there was no Six Flags contributed to it’s popularity?  Or, perhaps, it was the 40-50 rides, arcade games, or the musical acts.  I have to imagine that part of the attraction for locals was the 400 x 600  feet swimming pool.  Although I never went during the day to use the pool, I have since found some interesting information about it.
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Interesting about a public swimming pool???  Yes!!!  The pool was emptied every evening when the park closed and refilled by opening the following day—with water filtered from the Hudson River.  How is that possible?  Opened in 1913, this was the standard operating procedure right up through the 1950’s when they began emptying the pool weekly rather than daily.   During that time, the  pool manager was George Kellinger.  His son, James, relayed the procedure:
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"My father (George Kellinger) was in charge of the pool from the mid 50s until it closed. As a kid I was quite familiar with the way the pool operated. The pool was emptied approximately every eight days on average. They started to empty as the pool was closing, losing about a foot by closing time. As it emptied the lifeguards would use fire hoses to clean the bottom. By about 9 pm, the pool was empty, and the filling began. The pool was connected by 36 inch steel pipe to "the pump house" which was located at the foot of Rt 5 and River Road. A long wooded dock (still existing) carried three 14 inch pipes out into the river. In the pump house, three 600 hp Westinghouse electric motors provided the power to pump the salt water up to the top of the cliff. The water was treated and filtered through eight steel filter tanks and then went over the falls into the pool. The pool would be full by 7 am. The water was then continuously circulated through the filter tanks until it was time to empty again. I can remember walking the pool with my father to the deep end (fourteen feet initially) where I could see a dime at the bottom. "
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Lack of parking and  high volumes of traffic in the local towns were contributing factors in Manhattan land developers convincing local government to re-zone the land for commercial high-rise development and then used eminent domain to finally close the park down.  Four high-rise apartment building now stand on the siite of  one of the most popular amusement parks in the country.


















"Come on Down" (Theme Song) 
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"Palisades Park" - Freddie Cannon