![Rare Footage And Pictures From ‘Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park’ In New Orleans [Video]](http://townsquare.media/site/33/files/2017/01/pbeach4.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Rare Footage And Pictures From ‘Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park’ In New Orleans [Video]
From 1929 until 1983, New Orleans was home to "Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park" located at the end of Elysian Fields. Carnival games, live music, food, roller coasters and even a boardwalk, this was Louisiana's own Coney Island. I remember as a kid hearing my older brother and parents mention it from to time. Today, I stumbled across a few rare videos of the park and a website, www.demajo.net, dedicated to preserving it's memory. Oh yeah, and Elvis Presley played there too.
Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park had something for everyone. You could find your basic hotdogs, hamburgers and cotton candy, but the park also boasted fine dining such as the Bali Hai restaurant seen below.
When it came to games and rides, Pontchartrain Beach really had anything a kid could dream of. They had bumper cars, roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, a penny arcade, miniature golf and much more. I sent a text to my older brother Grieg to ask him if he remembers, or ever went to Pontchartrain Park when we lived in New Orleans. He said he loved the place as a kid. He also said he remembers the Zephyr roller coaster scaring him to death. You can see some of it in the picture below.
Pontchartrain Beach also had great live music. In 1956, a fella by the name of Elvis Presley played at the park. I don't know, maybe you've heard of him?
Below are a few more picture of the park and a couple of videos of rare footage of the park in action. A very special "Thank You" to John DeMajo for letting us use some of his amazing pictures. You can see many more over at demajo.net.
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