...you read an article like this one, and your first thought is "Gee, if this happens, I'd better keep an eye out for Kentucky Kingdom stuff, because there will probably be a local market for it."
Actually, based on some limited experiences, it seems like pre-Six Flags KK stuff does have a little bit of a market, as I have sold a few pieces of it before. I'm always on the look out for Louisville, Kentucky, and Southern Indiana stuff, particularly if it's vintage. Every town has its own local memorabilia buffs.
Since the article mentions the Koch family and Holiday World, I can remember back when it was called "Santa Claus Land." The commercials used to be on all the time. We never went, but I always wanted too. SCL memorabilia is pretty popular in this region.
The closest fun park to us when I was a kid was Beech Bend in Bowling Green. We went there a few times. I remember it as being okay, but not spectacular, which I think was typical of a lot of those smaller parks. Of course, they didn't have that killer water park in those days. Surprisingly, it's still open. BG is only about three hours from Nashville, so I figured that eventually the competition from Opryland would do the park in as Opryland became a bigger deal. It's kind of fascinating that Opryland is gone and BB is still there. I have sold some older Opryland stuff (and would love to find more), but I've never seen any Beech Bend items. I'm sure there probably are some, but I'd be more likely to find them closer to my old hometown than here.
Kentucky Kingdom wasn't Louisville's first amusement park. That honor goes to Fontaine Ferry. There are some serious collectors FF stuff around here and items can bring good prices at local auctions. One local antique store has a lot of props and such from park and keeps them on display. This video is from a local museum exhibit a few years ago.
Anyway, I do hope that plans for Kentucky Kingdom, or whatever it's going to be called, work out this time. Louisville needs the employment opportunities for youth, if nothing else.
1 comment:
I have several Santa Claus Land pennants in my booth. I don't know why I didn't realize it was in Kentucky. I guess I assumed it was somewhere a bit colder!
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