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Changing Face of Southern California

Night Scene, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, Cal. as seen from the Pier

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Night Scene, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, Cal. as seen from the Pier

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Identifier	post_00176
Title	Night Scene, Ocean Park and Santa Monica, Cal. as seen from the Pier
Creator	unknown
Date Created	1911-1912
Subject (Topic)	Amusement rides--California--Los Angeles; Roller coasters--California--Los Angeles; Piers--California--Los Angeles;
Subject (Name)	Dragon Gorge (Santa Monica, Calif. : Amusement ride); Grand Canyon Scenic Railway (Santa Monica, Calif. : Amusement ride); Looff Hippodrome (Santa Monica, Calif. : Amusement ride);
Subject (Place)	Ocean Park (Santa Monica, Calif.);
Type	image
Form/Genre	Postcards
Physical Description	1 postcard : Color ; 9 x 14 cm.
Institution	Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	public domain
Copyright Statement	http://library.lmu.edu/generalinformation/departments/digitallibraryprogram/copyrightandreproductionpolicy/
Publisher	O. Newman Company
Place of Publication	Los Angeles, San Francisco
Language	eng
Description	A nighttime view of amusement rides in Ocean Park, California. The Dragon Gorge Scenic Railway appears in the center of the image. The twin red pagodas which adorn the façade of the Dragon Gorge's entrance are seen above the roller coaster's tracks. The Looff Hippodrome which housed a carousel appears on the shore with a large domed roof. The tracks and a carriage for the Grand Canyon Scenic Railroad appear in the lower right portion of the image. The imitation volcano seen in the upper right portion of the image adorned the entrance to the Grand Canyon Scenic Railway.
Historical Background	The area south of Santa Monica became known as Ocean Park in 1895, and was originally developed as a seaside resort by Abbot Kinney and his partner Francis Ryan. In 1898 Kinney and Ryan built the Ocean Park Pier, the first of several pleasure piers to be built in Los Angeles County. Kinney built the successful Venice pleasure pier in 1906. The L.A. Thompson Company acquired property in Ocean Park and in 1911 built the Dragon Gorge Scenic Railroad on the beach on Ocean Front Walk. The building took up several blocks and also incorporated an Auto Maze ride, a Grotto Cafe and House of Mystery. The same year Alexander Frazier built an enormous pleasure pier adjacent to the Dragon Gorge which was called "Frazier Million Dollar Pier". A main attraction on the Frazier Pier was the Grand Canyon Scenic Railway. The Dragon George and the attractions on the Frazier Pier were destroyed by a massive fire on September 3, 1912.
Additional Printed Matter	On back: "On the road of a thousand wonders"
Publisher's Identifier	Series number: F 118
Additional Notes	Publication date from the years of operation of the Dragon George Scenic Railway. Printed using the Melville Gravure process.
Source	Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection