The Erie Electric Trolley Company had a hit with Waldameer. Since its opening, the 65-acre picnic park had installed several rides and its beach area was a paradise of sand, boardwalk, lagoon, and bath house. For those not wanting to take the streetcar, stable room and bicycle racks were available for individuals who came by horse or bike.
The big news for the summer of 1904 was the toboggan slide. Located between the bath house and beach, the slide resembled the downward track of a roller coaster. The top of the slide was 30’ above the beach and promised “a splendid grade” to the water. For 5 cents, a rider would sit or lay on a flat board with 4 rollers attached and plunge into the water. Particularly exciting when the lake was rough, it was hard to tell where the toboggan would fly when it hit a big breaker. Surprisingly, only a few minor injuries were reported. The ride was enormously popular, and in July the park announced it would no longer charge guests to ride.
As the years passed, Waldameer added a pier along with a swimming pool between the bath house and beach. Visitors continued to boat on the large lagoon. As the end of the decade approached, people were starting to camp on the beach. Summer houses and cottages appeared up and down the shore. The Erie Daily-Times reported close to 1,000 bungalows in the spring of 1910.
With rides becoming more popular, attendance decreased at Waldameer’s beach. To keep people coming, park manager Alex Moeller announced a gravity railway would be installed in 1920. Called the Toonerville Trolley, the cable car carried visitors down the ravine and helped bring more swimmers back to the shore.
Waldameer’s beach continued to be a popular destination into the 1930s. Other than a new wooden breakwall, improvements were small. Mentions in the newspaper dwindled, until 1937 when it was reported that a massive storm toppled a cottage and washed away its foundation. It was around this time that the winds and waves washed away Waldameer’s beach, ending its swimming, boating, and joy-filled days.
Looking at Waldameer’s waterfront today, it’s hard to picture all that was there. Nothing of its former glory remains. Crossing a small stream before walking toward the shore, Park President and General Manager Steve Gorman shared that he’s never come across any artifacts from the beach’s heyday.
What sand that remains is home to a variety of grasses and small trees. The shoreline is braced by a stone breakwall built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent further erosion.
But while walking the beach area and recalling aerial photos taken in 1938, images from the past begin to come clear. Overlaying a Penn Pilot photo from 1938 with one taken recently, it appears that the stream we crossed was part of the boardwalk across the lagoon. To the west, Waldameer’s lagoon extended into the present Kelso Beach area, as mentioned in a 1918 Erie Daily-Times article. Its eastern boundary crossed into what is currently Sara’s Campground, at the time owned by Alex Moeller’s brother, William.
One of the best discoveries was a 2012 Erie Times-News article. In outlining his 10-year plan for Waldameer, owner Paul Nelson shared his vision for restoring this 5-acre parcel few people knew belonged to the park. He envisioned an incline to carry people down to the beach area where there would be a water ride, family ride, restaurant, and picnic area. Unfortunately, the cost to install an incline was prohibitive and the plan had to be abandoned. But thanks to the Gorman family and their willingness to take time from their busy schedules, the lost story of Waldameer’s beach lives on and, as the Erie Daily-Times said in 1901, has been a joy forever.
Fun at the Beach, The Razzle Dazzle
Waldameer Beach Cottages
Boardwalk over lagoon to bath house
(Author’s Note: Thank you to Steve and Brian Gorman, who both volunteered their help, the entire Gorman family, and the memory of Paul Nelson for honoring Waldameer’s history while also planning for attractions yet to come.)
