We say Cleveland is a city on the rise.
That was also true at the turn of the 20th century.
Cleveland was the fifth largest city in the nation -- and all those people needed a place to play.
Channel 3's Sara Shookman is taking a look back at Euclid Beach Park.
For nearly 75 years Euclid Beach Park in the Collinwood neighborhood was Cleveland's spot. This was a getaway in the gilded age, and for decades, each time Euclid Beach Park opened for the season, it was flooded with friends and families, many of them keep its iconic memory alive.
Even the Beach Boys recognized Euclid Beach Park as a place to spend a day in the sun in the lyrics to their song "Amusement Parks USA": "At Euclid Beach on the flying turns, I'll bet you can't keep from smilin'," they sang.
"My favorite ride was the Thriller, says Joe Tomaro of the Euclid Beach Boys, the group still working to preserve the sights and sounds of Euclid Beach some 45 years after the park closed. "That was actually ended up being one of the first pieces I ever found for our collection. We're preserving Cleveland's amusement history one piece at a time."
Euclid Beach Park first opened in 1895, patterned after New York's Coney Island. John Grabowski, historian at the Western Reserve Historical Society, says, "There you are and all these wonders around you, all these rides, all the fun and then the lake as well and the lake breezes. It's an escape."
After the Humphrey family purchased the park in 1901, they expanded it as a family friendly place with a beach and bath houses and many new attractions, rides and, of course, the carousel -- all for one fare with a free gate and a policy against alcohol.
Terry Kovel of the Cleveland Euclid Beach Park Carousel Society has fond memories of the park.
"I remember Euclid Beach being a lot of picnics and a lot of rides, and my brother trying to kill me on the Dodgems," Kovel said.
Grabowski says the park played a significant role in politics as well.
"It's also a place where there are enormously important events. John Kennedy, even before he's running for president, he's introduced at the Democratic annual Steer Roast at Euclid Beach Park," he said.
For decades, Euclid Beach Park was a platform. It was, in a way, a showpiece of technology for electricity and lighting, and it provided an affordable escape during times of war.
The park changed with the nation. Segregation and racial tensions existed at the park until after World War II.
Grabowksi adds, "If you can look at the park's history, you can begin to read broader histories. Some of them are pleasant, some of them are troublesome, but it runs through the spine of 20th century Cleveland.
As urban life disbanded and suburbia and the automobile took center stage, urban parks around the country lost their luster.
The Humphreys closed Euclid Beach Park for the season for the final time in 1969.
For Joe Tomaro, it's a loss that's never gone away.
"I distinctly remember the day before the park closed. It was like I lost my best friend," he says.
