Palace Playland

Marty and I rode the Ferris wheel at Palace Playland, rising above the beach for a view of the pier, the water, and the town behind us. From the ground, the rides fill your attention one at a time. From above, we could see how closely the amusement park and the shore belong together. People moved between the sand and the midway, making a day at Old Orchard Beach their own.

This tradition began in 1902, when the town’s first amusement area offered roller skating, a merry-go-round, games, rides, and refreshments. By then, trains were bringing summer visitors directly into Old Orchard Beach. The park gave them something to do after swimming, and it grew into a place where children and adults could share the excitement of a seaside holiday. Palace Playland has remained on this stretch of beachfront through generations of changing rides.

That continuity required rebuilding. On October 3, 1948, a fire destroyed an entire block of Palace Playland. A wooden roller coaster, the Old Mill ride, game concessions, cottages, and bathhouses were lost. The park returned, but the rides familiar to one generation were not necessarily the ones the next would know. The fire is part of what makes its long life remarkable: the pleasure of coming here continued even after so much had to be made anew.

As the Ferris wheel carried us upward, the rides and people below grew smaller. We could follow the beach along the shore, see the pier reaching into the water, and look back toward the streets we had explored earlier. Marty and I had spent the day learning Old Orchard Beach’s history. For a few minutes above it all, we simply enjoyed the view together.