Creating smiles since 1952
Memphis Kiddie Park has specialized in putting smiles on children’s faces since 1952. We offer 11 amusement rides designed especially for our young customers, a concession stand, and an 18-hole miniature golf course for the whole family. Generations of families have made Memphis Kiddie Park a landmark in the Greater Cleveland area by including us in their summer tradition for more than 70 years.
Memphis Kiddie Park opened on May 28, 1952. It was designed and built by Stuart Wintner, a native Clevelander. In its second year of operation, Bill Applegarth came to Memphis Kiddie Park as a ride operator. The next year he became manager. Both Stuart, with his wife Lanny, and Bill, with his wife Delores, continued to run the Park together until their respective retirements. After more than 70 years, Memphis Kiddie Park is still owned and operated by the next generations of their families.
In the 1950s, kiddie parks (also known as “kiddielands”) were popular across North America. Cleveland had three (in addition to the kiddie rides at Puritas Park and Euclid Beach Park): Memphis Kiddie Park; Kiddieland on Northfield Road in Warrensville Heights; and later, Kiddieland at the Zoo. By the mid-1960s, kiddie parks across the country – including the other two Cleveland-area parks – began to close as land became more valuable and owners lost interest.
Today, Memphis Kiddie Park is the oldest of the few remaining “kiddieland” parks in the United States. Our flagship ride, the Little Dipper, was certified as the oldest continuously-operating steel roller coaster in North America by American Coaster Enthusiasts in June 2000.
