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Circa 1905. "Entrance to Luna Park, Pittsburg." This week: "Adgie and Her Lions." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Here's an article in the Washington Post on how this photo was, ah, kinda borrowed many years ago.
Dreams of youth, long past.
http://historyguild.org/photos/frames/frame74.htm
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Victoria, Prince, and Trilby.
Here's a review from 1902 Washington Post. Also a brief item on her competition: "fat ladies' tug-of-war."
Six years later in 1911. Back by popular demand.
Pittsburgh lost its H in 1890 when there was a nationwide movement to standardize the names of cities, but regained it in 1911 after much protest. Our lost "H" is most fortuitous when dating photos and documents!
"Lost Kennywood" in Pittsburgh's Kennywood Park has a rather faithful (albeit scaled down) replica of Luna's entrance, a classic chute-the-chutes, a replica of Luna's carousel building, and several almost exact copy facades.
The Lions Won the Day
Omaha, Neb., March 29. -- Adgie the lion tamer, a beautiful Spanish girl, who has been exhibiting here with a cage of trained lions, has had trouble with her manager. He came to-day with officers to levy upon the animals, but Adgie put up a determined fight, attacking the manager personally and driving him from the field.
The officers then attempted to levy, when the woman caught hold of the cage door and prepared to let out her pets, which were growling savagely. The officers fled, leaving her mistress of the situation.
-- New York Times, March 30, 1897
-- "Adgie and Her Pets"
May have proved the demise of this great looking park, one of 44 worldwide built by Frederick Ingersoll. A trolley park opened up in 1909 close by, and Mr. Ingersoll decided to close this one in the face of that competition. Many parks were built at the end of trolley lines in the early part of the 20th century.
The most light bulbs in all the world.
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