Erie's History and Memorabilia

In 1897, Jacob Lang and Christian Rabe purchased 13 acres of the Crowley apple orchard on the bank of Lake Erie, on the east side of Four Mile Creek, in the township of Lawrence Park. Here they built the elegant Grove House Park hotel that provided its guests with beautiful views of  the lake, with all the amenities of a first class hotel. Five years later, in 1902, Alfred Lang would inherit the hotel, after it was burnt to the ground. Alfred Lang created Four Mile Creek Amusement Park in 1902. The park was a popular destination, it was the era of temperance and unlike their competitor Waldameer , the park allowed the consumption of alcohol beverages. Their Outdoor theater offered vaudeville and burlesques shows that were performed every afternoon and evening, except for Monday afternoons, and when they were available they would also show moving pictures. The Dance Hall was on the bank of Lake Erie, adjacent to Four Mile Creek, where patrons would enjoy the lake’s breeze

Waldameer Amusement Park is the fourth oldest still-operating trolley park in existence, the fourth oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania, and the 10th oldest amusement park in the United States, located at the entrance to Presque Isle. Waldameer began as a picnic area called Hoffman's Grove . Originally, the park's main attraction was its beach on the lake; it was a popular destination in Erie for people to go and escape the summer heat. The Erie Electric Motor Company purchased the 65-acre park in 1896 and renamed it Waldameer, German for woods by the sea . The trolley car company extended service to its new park, making Hoffman's Grove picnic area a terminus on the line in the hopes of increasing passenger traffic.Trolley Parks were started in the 19th century by streetcar companies to encourage people to patronize the trolleys on weekends. Picnic groves and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines eventually grew with the addition of pavilions, hosting d