Slides, swings and merry-go-rounds (c. 1900 based on the clothes) at Union Park in Dubuque, Iowa. Too bad we've lost the merry-go-rounds to litigation. Do any of you readers have statistical data on their actual danger, or is it just a perceived risk? I'd be interested to know.
I don't know anything about merry-go-round risks. I was just wondering if you were aware of the interesting history of the park pictured: Union Park. Located in a valley just north of Dubuque, IA., it was washed away by a flash flood in 1919, killing 5 people ( four children) and destroying all of the structures. The day had started out sunny and warm, but within minutes of the first clouds rolling in, the valley was filled with rushing, rising water. In its day, it was the place to recreate in Dubuque, but it never bounced back after its destruction even though it was rebuilt. I always thought this story was very intersting and thought I would share.
ReplyDeleteFascinating...thanks for the comment! Any written sources for that part of the history?
ReplyDeleteI'm informally researching the park and found the name of this book: Union Park, a Place of Memories by Michael Boge (1983).
ReplyDeleteIf anyone's interested, I started (yes, only started) to make a site a few years ago about Union Park based primarily on the info found in Boge's book...as well as on info from other sources:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.geocities.com/unionparkdbq
I hope to update/finish it eventually, but who knows when that's going to happen. :-)
--Andy