Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer and, in Denver, there's hardly a place that says, "Summer fun in Denver," better than Lakeside Amusement Park. (Technically Lakeside does not offer summer fun in Denver, as Lakeside is its own municipality, but you know what we mean.)
In its 108-year history, Lakeside has played host to a number of rides, but few are as memorable as its unforgettable funhouse. This collection of bone-crushing attractions included a floor-mounted spinning disc that hurtled riders across the room, blasts of air designed to lift women's skirts, and host of other devices that would induce migraines in a modern insurance adjuster.
One particularly memorable feature, that does not appear in this 1925 photo, is the legendary Laffing Sall. Sall was an automated papier mâché figurine that stood perched atop the funhouse bellowing out an unending and terrifying cackle.
If Sall gave you nightmares as a child, we feel it's only fair to warn you that there are plenty of other Salls floating around the amusement park world. Laughing Sall was produced en masse by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and is still on display in various museums and amusement parks across the country.
One place you won't find Sall anymore is at an actual funhouse. When Lakeside shut down its funhouse in 1986, it shut down the last known funhouse of its kind in the United States.
While Lakeside Amusement Park may lack a funhouse, it's hardly lacking in history and beautiful old buildings, as generations of Denver families can attest to.
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Comments
It has been a number of…
It has been a number of years ago but I used to live across the street from lakeside. Up Sheridan Blvd was there when the lakeside shopping center was built used to the stick car races too..
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