Libertyland

Libertyland was an amusement park located in Memphis, Tennessee. Opened on July 4, 1976, it was located at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. It was structured under the nonprofit 501(c)4 US tax code. It closed due to financial reasons in 2005. In 2022, a youth sports complex was built on the site of the amusement park.

History

In May 1971, directors of the Mid-South Fair proposed an amusement park at the Fairgrounds to local officials. Their proposal included themed areas to be located north of the park, and a monorail system for parking lot circulation. Their hope was to maximize the use of the land, utilizing existing attractions such as the wooden coaster Pippin, renamed Zippin Pippin with the opening of Libertyland, and the Grand Carousel.

Libertyland opened as an amusement park on the Mid-South Fairgrounds on July 4, 1976. Several rides were added to the pre-existing rides that had operated in that place before. The Zippin Pippin was widely popular as it was Elvis Presley's favorite wooden roller coaster. The Grand Carousel was also a classic and was widely appreciated. The park gradually drew in decent crowds over the years, but never made a great profit. It continued to add attractions, such as a steel coaster called the Revolution, and others. During the late 1990s, it added a Top Spin ride, named Tidal Wave. In April 2002, the Tidal Wave was replaced by the drop tower Rebellion. It featured a drop and drew larger crowds to the park.

Financial troubles

For many years, it was widely known that Libertyland was having financial difficulties, failing to turn a profit. Few new attractions were being added, and crowds began to diminish. In 2005, Mid-South Fair commissioned a firm to design a new logo for Libertyland and rebuild its image. They also repainted several buildings, but the effort did not bring in enough visitors to maintain the park as a viable ongoing operation. Although the operating loss was minimal compared to the tax revenue generated in the area around the park by tourists. The city later spent more than the operating loss on a youth jobs creation program to replace the jobs lost by teenagers who worked at the park.

Closure

The park operated its last day for a corporate day on October 29, 2005. In early November, a meeting was called before the Mid-South Fair board of committee to close it. The vote passed, and the announcement was made public. Their reasonings included lack of profit, a steady decline of attendance, and they wanted to extend the midway for the annual Mid-South Fair which operated adjacent to the park's site for 10 days in October. Its closure followed that of Adventure River, Memphis' only water park, by less than ten years. The City of Memphis had also closed Bud Boogie Beach in the early 1990s.

Grass-roots effort and auction

The decision to close Libertyland led to the formation of Save Libertyland!, a group formed to fight for Mid-South Fair to reopen the park, citing that the park created hundreds of jobs for Memphis-area teens and was an affordable place for families to spend time. Save Libertyland! filed a complaint in court to block Mid-South Fair from auctioning off the rides and equipment, arguing that they were owned by the City of Memphis. The city ended up claiming ownership of the Pippin and the Grand Carousel. The group brought in a few companies willing to operate the park, mainly Joyland, Inc. (T-Rex Group), which was known for buying financially troubled amusement parks and turning them around. However, Mid-South Fair went on with plans to auction the assets off.

Mid-South Fair brought in an auctioneer group and the auction was held on June 21, 2006. Most of the rides were sold, including the Zippin Pippin, which was eventually bought by the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin and rebuilt at their city-owned Bay Beach Amusement Park. The Revolution was bought by DelGrosso's Amusement Park but not reassembled. The Rebellion was sold to Ghost Town in the Sky and reopened in 2007. Other rides were dispersed to sites around the country.

In December 2006, Joyland Inc. sent the city a letter of intent for developing a new amusement park on the Libertyland site. The deal was to be completed on a three-year lease plan, and Joyland hoped to receive the Grand Carousel and Zippin Pippin as well. However, upon viewing the site in-person, Joyland Inc. pulled out of the deal due to extensive damage to infrastructure, including wiring and plumbing.

Post-closure

The Grand Carousel was leased and restored by the Children's Museum of Memphis and began operating in the new pavilion in November 2017. The Revolution was bought by an amusement park in the Philippines and now operates as The Zimerman Corkscrew Coaster. The Zippin Pippin is in Wisconsin and is still operating to this day. People with Tennessee State IDs or drivers licenses can ride the Pippin for free.

The northern tip of Libertyland was redeveloped as part of a parking lot and green space for tailgate parties known as Tiger Lane. In 2022, the Memphis Sports and Events Center was built on the site of the amusement park. The sports complex can host tournaments and other events and includes two adjacent soccer fields.

Attractions

* Bumper Boats
* Car-Go-Round
* Casey's Cannonball Train Ride
* Dragon Wagon
* Fun Run
* Grand Carousel - Opened my Memphis Commission in 1923. Restored and relocated to the Children's Museum of Memphis in 2017.
* Kamikaze - by Fabbri Group
* Little Bumper Boats
* Old Hickory Log Flume
* Paratrooper
* Park's Peak
* Pirate Ship
* Rebellion - Drop tower opened in 2002.
* Red Baron
* Revolution - Loop & Corkscrew-type coaster built by Arrow Development in 1979. Bought by DelGrosso's Amusement Park, then sold to Glorious Fantasyland theme park in the Philippines.
* Screamer
* Sea Dragon
* Surf City - Water slide
* Tennessee Tilt - Tilt-A-Whirl
* Thriller
* Turnpike Antique Cars
* Twain's Twister - Scrambler by Eli Bridge Company
* Umbrella Ride
* Wipeout - by Chance Rides
* Zippin Pippin - Wooden coaster opened in 1923. Relocated to Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2010.

References

External links

Remember Libertyland - A Libertyland Tribute
*{{RCDB, 4592

Defunct amusement parks in Tennessee
History of Memphis, Tennessee
Landmarks in Tennessee
Buildings and structures in Memphis, Tennessee
1976 establishments in Tennessee
2005 disestablishments in Tennessee
Amusement parks closed in 2005