In this age of faster, higher coasters and parks like Cedar Point and King’s Island within a few hours drive, it is easy to forget some of the early amusement parks that once populated Northeast Ohio. The first such attraction for the city of Cleveland was Forest City Park in what is now the Slavic Village neighborhood.

Opened in 1883, Beyerle Park drew its name from its first operator, George William Beyerle, who envisioned a summer resort where people could get away from city life and enjoy themselves. Early versions of the park had picnic areas, a manmade lake, a boathouse, baseball grounds, a pavilion, and a small zoo.

Though the park was initially successful, within a decade of the park opening Beyerle was facing a number of financial problems. His business partner, J. Sykora, was signing checks without authorization. This coupled with a large number of lawsuits of patrons who were injured when a bridge collapsed on the lake forced Beyerle to sell the park.

Although the park was taken over by A. B. Schwab et al on May 5, 1889, and its name was changed to Forest City Park, no great change would occur until 1902. It was at this time that Dudley Humphrey assumed management of the 65-acre park and transformed the mode of operation. Humphrey believed Forest City Park, as well as Euclid Beach Park, which he also managed at this time, were places of immoral influence that he needed to purify. Guests would be turned away at the gates if dressed inappropriately and removed from the park if they acted in a way not to Humphrey’s standards. Under his control, the park removed its beer garden, stopped serving alcohol, and cut down on vaudeville and sideshow acts. In place of these corrupt forms of entertainment, Humphrey added rides and family friendly attractions- a shooting gallery, merry-go-round, a theater, and a “switchback” roller coaster. Under his management the two parks were on a system called the “Humphrey Park Plan”; this allowed guests to buy multiple tickets at a cheaper price and could use the tickets at either park.

Despite the numerous attractions that Humphrey brought to the park, attendance suffered. The large immigrant population in the neighborhood surrounding the park disliked the lack of alcohol on the grounds, whereas the people living further out found it easier to spend the day at Euclid Beach Park or Luna Park. At this time, Cedar Point was also growing in popularity; by the end of the decade, it added additional roads for easier access and opened the classic Cyclone roller coaster, the fastest and tallest in the world at this time, along the beach.

With the increased popularity of the automobile, Forest City Park faced a new challenge; built in the era of railroads and streetcars, the park had no parking spaces and showed no intentions of adding them. Without this access, patrons were left with the options of parking farther away off grounds and walking back to the park entrance or paying to take the street car. Without a suitable option for driving customers, attendance at the park continued to fall.

The final straw came in the early 1920s, when a fire damaged part of the park. The park closed for good soon after. In the 1930s, the city sold the westernmost part of the park to the steel mills to dump slag. By the 1960s, the rest of the park was filled in and houses placed on the empty fields, covering what little remained of the Slavic Village’s amusement park history.

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In 1901, Dudley S. Humphrey became the owner of Euclid Beach amusement park, vowing to make the park a respectable, family friendly place for recreation. He had previously run a popcorn stand at the park, though the prevalence of alcohol, freak shows, and gambling under the old ownership did not mesh with his Protestant values. Humphrey's new Euclid Beach, where everything was guaranteed to be "of a highly moral and elevating character," instantly became a success. The park no longer had an admission fee, so one could enjoy a day at the park for little or no money. Streetcar companies introduced single fare service to the park, making getting there cheap and convenient too. Euclid Beach Park proudly touted these new, improved features with the motto: 'One Fare – Free Gate – No Beer.'

Occupying 90 acres of lakeshore property near the Collinwood-Euclid township border, the park grew rapidly under the Humphrey family management to add unique food options, attractions, amusements, and recreational resources for Cleveland’s growing population during the first half of the 20th century. A park railway connected beach and fishing facilities with a dancehall, theatre, and roller skating rink. A Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, and a funhouse were among the 157 "spaces and structures" on the park’s map. Rocket cars, roller coasters of all sizes, flying scooters, and "dodgem" cars attracted visitors of all ages as well as the park's arcade. Hundreds of local company and organization picnics filled the Euclid Beach schedule every season. Concerts and political rallies also marked the calendar. All tolled, millions of visitors enjoyed Euclid Beach during the 69 Humphrey management years with some event crowds rivaling the local pro sports gatherings of 85,000 plus.

The Humphrey's vision of Euclid Beach Park, sadly, also involved the strict regulation of African American visitors, who were admitted to the park but prevented from using all of its facilities. These practices culminated in a series of protests and violent incidents during the summer of 1946, prompting the mayor to order the park closed a month early. From that point on, the park's dancehall – whose racial policies had been the target of many of the protests – remained closed to the public. Nevertheless, Euclid Beach remained popular in the years after World War II but ultimately closed in 1969.

Although it has been closed since 1969, Euclid Beach lives on throughout Northeast Ohio in a number of ways. Cleveland Metroparks assumed management of Cleveland’s lakefront parks in 2013. A visit to Wildwood Park, which occupies the site of Euclid Beach amusements and the lakeside beach, now accommodates visitors, boaters, and swimmers in a park setting. In addition, even those too young to have visited the park themselves can still take a ride on the rocket car, crunch into an authentic Humphrey popcorn ball, hear the quavering cackle of Laughing Sal, and enjoy the park's 1910 carousel, lovingly restored after being rescued from a shuttered amusement park in Maine, in its new location at the Western Reserve Historical Society in University Circle.

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