Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Clipper Cove, Pleasure Island, 1959

Description

"Among the first sights to see at Pleasure Island was Clipper Cove, a reproduction of a 150-year old New England fishing village, the place from which visitors reached two of the park's most popular attractions, the Wreck of the Hesperus and the Moby Dick ride. After entering Pleasure Island, visitors passed through the crescent-shaped entrance to Clipper Cove that was outlined with barnacle-crusted anchors. According to news reports, the same lamplights that once lined Boston streets framed the sidewalks of the fishing village. A lighthouse cast its beacon on the manmade inland sea that engineers created to accommodate the porpoises, sharks, sea turtles and the 75-foot animated Moby Dick. Authentic whale boats made in Maine took riders on their journey to find Moby Dick. Over 250 craftsmen transformed the 80-acre swampland into a family amusement center in a record time of four months, beginning in February 1959. Pleasure Island opened in June 1959 and closed in 1968. C.V. Wood, Jr., the former vice president and general manager of Disneyland, Inc. during its first year, spearheaded the team that researched, designed and developed Pleasure Island." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2005

Photo courtesy of the Friends of Pleasure Island.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1959

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Pleasure Island (Wakefield, Mass.)

Amusement parks

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

24 x 18 cm.