Eldridge Park

Story

Eldridge Park, located in Elmira, New York, was a famous amusement park around the turn of the 20th century. Covering roughly 15acre, it was dedicated to the memory of a local physician and was in common usage late into the 20th century.Early in the 21st century, another local physician and friends decided to resurrect the central element of Eldridge Park, the carousel. Their efforts have been largely successful and they have moved on to further enhancements and improvements of the park. It is rumored that the Eldridge Park Carousel is the world's fastest, though this is not yet confirmed. It is, however, one of only 18 remaining carousels in the United States with brass ring feeders.In the early 1960s, the park included the now-famous carousel, an outdoor stage, an extensive network of picnic areas, a wooden roller coaster, haunted house, shooting gallery, bumper cars, several rides for young and old alike, Jasper II (a boat ride on the park's lake), eateries, a miniature golf course, and a small-gauge train that ran through the park, in addition to several other rides and attractions.Eldridge Lake was believed to be bottomless in local folklore and, that there was an underground water tunnel that leads at least 20mi to the north, to Seneca Lake, one of the nearby Finger Lakes in Upstate New York. However, the average depth of the lake is 39ft and there are no known tunnels that connect Eldridge Lake with Seneca Lake.Eldridge Park has several soccer fields, used by the local travel soccer club, Soaring Capital Soccer Club, a skate park, and a baseball field.