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Shared Memories of Rocky Point Park
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Hi, Just wanted to say hi to you as I only have one small momento when I was ten way back in 1970 and a small wallet size b&w photo taken in the photo booth there where ever that was in there at that time during the summer. My second and last visit was in 1972 when twelve when my step dad took me, mom and my grandparents for a Phyzer company picnic outing and what a blast with lots of fun and memories and a ride all day bracelet. I am a RI native and born in Westerly but lived in CT near Westerly all of my life. My favorite rides there was the house of horror , the one you rode through on a cart and remember the cart crashing through the doors and coming back outside then I think up we went to the upper level lol. Then the train ride being a RR buff. Did they rip up all the tracks I wonder and who bought the train set I also wondered? Ah yes the sky liner they called it back then in the 70"s with a nice view when you got on top of that hill for the turn back then looking back at Narragensett Bay on the return trip back. I wanted to do a nice vid with some pics from peoples visits from there and place music and place on my youtube account as I am a freelance photojournalist and a member of the International Press Association where my photos and articles have appeared in the past on the IPA website. I may write a story for IPA about this historical place down the road but need to hear stories from people. I know they are planning on having like a open house I believe this coming Sunday from 12:00 to 2:00 pm but I am unfortuately unable to make it as only like the water parcel will be opened during this time as I wanted to get in closer to see what is left with my camera as I thought I spotted it on Google Earth on Rocky Point Ave and spotted what it looked like the parcel a very empty one now but it looked like the big chow hall was still there but maybe only the outline of it I seen. Well that is it for now and lets keep Rocky Points memory alive forever and what a shame it got to this final stage as something could of been down m aybe to save this piece of history. But this is happening all over now and six flags and other offer more but during our days there was no six flags, no Pcs, no game boys and the only cell phone that I knew was " Beam Me Up Scotty" from Star Track. lol I am at Youtube.com and my user name is markcnews. Here is my pic from Rocky Point. I can remember holding a stuffed teddy bear when having my pic t aken that I had won at one of the game booths but can not remember how I won it. lol
first of all i love your site dude and reading everyones memories brought back alot for me also i lived in ri my whole life and i used to go to rocky point alot for the rides and when i was older to the concerts there at the paladium and the outdoor shows i remember the first time i was old enough to ride the corkscrew and flume by myself and that was a big day in my life and when i looked at the pictures you took at the destroyed park it brought tears to my eyes once a place that brought joy to all of us is now gone so thank you for the site and the trip down memory lane walter north kingstown ri
I WAS AMAZED TO FIND THIS SITE...I AM ORIGINALLY FROM RHODE ISLAND AND I HAVE MISSED GOING TO ROCKY POINT AND HAVING THEIR WONDERFUL CHOWDER AND CLAMCAKES...MY FAMILY OWNED A SEAFOOD PROCESSING PLANT IN EXETER.... COULD I PLEASE HAVE THE RECIPE FOR THE CHOWDER AND CLAM CAKES.....SUCH FOND MEMORIES I grew up in Johnston and Providence and fondly remember the best times of my child hood were spent at Rocky Point Park. My mother even worked there one summer and ran one of the kiddie rides. The reason I'm writing to you is because someone just told me today that Rocky Point park has been re-opened, could this possibly be true? Any information you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated. thank you and take care Kevin
Wow-I worked there as a ride operator in 1984-85 with my two best friends. We loved almost everything about it but we still talk about how Dave Cascioli would make our blood freeze by stopping his scooter and staring wordlessly at us if we were talking to girls (one of the “perks” of the job). We also worked for Al Albino and Angelo Russo and they treated us very well; it’s hard to believe that such a big part of our young adulthood is gone. Whenever I get together with Tim and Charlie we almost always bring up stories from our two summers as ride operators. I remember Kerseys after work and how we would arrive early and lay in the beer tent praying for rain. If anyone remembers us give us a shout out. Paul Mildenberger Ride Operator extrordinaire
I had alot of good memories, to much to share. But Rocky Point was always a place that every other sat. me and my family and friends would go and do an outing at Rocky Point. I was there the last day it was opened and i grabbed and brought as much as i could, i have like 5 tee-shirts and hats. Being 20 now I look back at it, and it bring backs so many good memories that it makes me wanna cry. I really did love that place, it was a New England thing to do. I would never trade that experience that i had there for anything. No other amusement park compares, because Rockey Point is what i grew up on. If someone brought the park back i would go first day. I really think someone should remake rocky point. that place was a land mark and always will be a land mark. My favorite ride was the House of Horror. I went to go see the you must be this tall to ride, and that brought back so much memories and so has this. Thank you for the site. Oh i also read the Comic Book about Rockey Point. Every Rhode Islander who was able to experience the park knows it was the best park ever. And it will always hold a place in out hearts. It was the summer of 1977. Two of Rhode Island's most magnificent properties lay on each side of Narragansett Bay. On the Riverside Terrace there was Crescent Park and on Warwick Neck was Rocky Point. Since the 1800's they have provided Rhode Island each and every summer day with magic and wonder. However, in 1938, the summer of fun came to an abrupt end, due to a deadly Catagory 2 Hurricane that killed hundreds of Rhode Islanders. 1939 was a rebuilding year and by 1940 the summer of fun had returned. to go for summer fun. You knew where you were going when you turned onto Warwick Neck Rd. heading south for 1 mile. As you approached the end of that mile, you saw a blinking stop light on the intersection of Warwick Neck Rd. and Rocky Point Ave. That blinking light was almost like a themed attraction outside of Rocky Point. badass ride came into prominance. The original rides were still in place. the Carousel, the Rock 'N Roll Express, the Ferris Wheel, the Skyliner, and the Cyclone. The 1970's saw the emergance of the Flume, and the 1980's saw the Corkscrew(1984) and the Free Fall(1987). There was also the ride that went under a name change and today people still dispute which name is more suitiable for the theme. the Castle of Terror was renamed the House of Horrors. Those thrilling rides carried us into the '90s. Point will go down in Rhode Island history like a beautiful sunset. of me and my friend Nick (who now lives in Bangor, Me.) on the Kiddieland Coaster. I remember you had to purchase tickets at a discount at the Burger Kings in the area. My mom used to get the tickets at the Burger King located on the Intersection of Post Rd. and Airport Rd. in Warwick. Of course scared little kids turn out to be fearless, which is why Robb is now a Captain in the U.S. ARMY, currently in Iraq, 2nd tour of duty. All in all it wasn't such a bad day. Hey at least we rode the rickety Cyclone together. That would be the last summer that I would go able bodied. sun is high. Anyway, this was the first time we went to the park unsupervised. Of course when you went anywhere with J.C. unsupervised, you take your life into you're own hands. J.C. was in rare form that day. He didn't terrorise us like he's been known to do. He just wanted to have fun. I remember Dan getting sick on the spider. I don't remember what ride it was but J.C. and I started to get a little queesy. This time Robb got over his fears and rode the equal amount of rides as the rest of us. We were coming back down when Mark was going up. When we went back up, we never saw Mark come back down. I screamed HE JUMPED OFF!!! That he did on the turnaround in the woods. I looked down, saw Mark stepping over the railroad for the Rocky Point Express and back onto the midway and nobody seemed to notice. So Me and Matt hop of the ride at the dock, and we started asking Mark why he did that. The thing that stood out in my mind was that he never was asked to leave. Nobody Cares I guess. So we let them do their thing. So like the year before, we go on the Skyliner and again Mark jumps off. Only he doesn't jump off alone. His new sidekick Kenny jumps off as well. Again, nobody noticed. I think what I wanted to see most that day is Mark jumping off the ride. Fall 17 times in a row. I'm not kidding. So when we went up and then came down, Dan busted out SLAM Duh duhuh Duh duh dah let the boys be boys. So it caught on and we all started to sing. Then Dan said something dirty about Robb's mother. Robb's mom gives good h---. Then later I saw the girl I had a crush on in school, after I was thinking about her on and off from the day I met her. So that was kinda neat. Before we left we saw a Tribute band to KISS on the Midway stage. We thought they rocked. Unbeknownst to me, it would be my very last time on that Midway. My last time looking at the rides. My last time seeing out across Narragansett Bay. That place was my playground. Rocky Point means The Cyclone. Rocky Point means The Corkscrew. Rocky Point means The Free Fall. Rocky Point means The Enterprise. Rocky Point means The Skydiver. Rocky Point means The Skyliner. Rocky Point means The Rock N' Roll Express. Rocky Point means The Castle of Terror. Rocky Point means the YoYo. Rocky Point means The Rock and Roller. Rocky Point means The Spider. Rocky Point means The Apollo. Most of all, Rocky Point means childhood memories. You Must Be This Tall, that I recorded on MY DVR. Matt said when it comes out on DVD mail it to me. WILL DO MATT, WILL DO
Hello I believe we have been in business in the past. I was wondering if the dvd you offered a couple of years ago is the same as the one you are offering now? like you site after I had bought your dvd i was able to visit myself to the park and it was awful. My memories while working at Lincoln Park in Dartmouth a fellow worker and myself would double date and bring are girls, who also worked at Lincoln Park to your beloved Rocky Point. A great time was always had.. Wearing our Lincoln Park shirts gave us free admission to the park and put us to the front of many ride lines. We were given many prizes even though we did not come close to winning the game. Later in life i took my kids there with there friends and had a wonderful time. I can still remember hearing the jingle on WPRO from Rhode Island and WSAR in Fall River on AM radio. When I was little i didn't stand a chance of going to Rock Point. But when I was teenager it seemed like, if i heard the jingle I would be on my way with a date. Oh yea, One more memory. I remember watching Guess Who and Stepenwolfe standing in the BEER garden drinking what I could only imagine were $1.00 Narry's. Boy was it t ough to drive home after visits to your park. well I will leave you with the hope you might have a chuckle at another perspective of the goings on at "your park" with friends from "our park" . still I have to think riding the flume ride for few dozen times, without getting out, around the circuit was quite an accomplishment. Always missing the things we had big john john t lavoie
Yes- I still do love Rocky Point!! People tell me.."It's gone, get over it"..but I can't. That is part of my childhood and teenage years that still live on in my heart. It's such a shame to see recent pictures of that Park, and it makes the statement true, that it really is gone. But, I still don't want to believe it... Went to see "You Must Be This Tall" last Friday night, and it is a movie to definitely see if Rocky Point still holds a place in your heart. The movie takes you from the very first clams eaten on the beachfront, all the way to the parks demise in 1996, when all the rides were auctioned off. There is also an eerie tale about the Viking that stood atop of the House of Horrors. Read the comic book, and hear it for yourself. Was that House of Horrors really haunted??? I had gone there in February of 1996, to get some final pictures of the park. I even got a couple of souveniers, but I should have taken lots more. I found a Rocky Point baseball cap hanging on the flume, and a "Ride Being Serviced" sign. If I would've known that a couple of years later, when opened one year for "Halloweenland" that people ravished the park, and grabbed whatever they could, I would've done the same the day I was there, completely alone. There are so many people out there, I'm finding out, that miss the park as much as I do. Too bad we could'nt have all chipped in together to pay the back taxes owed on the property to save the park!!! Rocky Point will still live on in my soul forever, and it's nice to know there are pictures and websites out there to keep our childhood memories alive!!! Thanks!!! --Kim Benoit Woonsocket , R.I.
I was a Ride operator at Rocky Point Park From 1976-1986 I operated most every ride though the "HOUSE OF HORRORS" was a staple along with the "SKOOTERS" it's very sad how Rocky Point Park died but at least I have my memories and the park will be brought back to life one final time September 7TH 2007 At The Premier of "YOU MUST BE THIS TALL".I love your website as I love anything that keeps the memory of the park alive.As for your DVD how does it differ from the one offered by 401graphics.Thank you for your time,Howie Bergel.
Thank you so much for taking the photos of my beloved Rocky Point. I spent many happy times there in my childhood during the mid 50's to mid 60's. I too loved the shore dinner hall and to this day consider the chowder the best ever. The place was so popular that we routinely waited in line to get in to eat. Thinking about it from an adult perspective I wonder what my parents were thinking stuffing us kids with f ood just before letting us loose on the rides. Most of the time I would end up loosing my dinner after the Tilt A Whirl. Spinning was never a good idea on a full stomach ! Most of the time my family would go with another family so there were a lot of kids who shared the adventure of Rocky Point. On Weds. , I believe, it cost $1.00 for a hand stamp that allowed us to ride all the rides all evening !! The roller coaster was always a favorite since it s cared the pants off most of us kids but we couldn't get enough of it. The Fun House and the House of Horrors was always on the schedule. We would never miss the carousel and loved reaching out for the rings even when we were not big enough to get there. What a thrill it was to be there and how lucky we were to have parents willing to put up with all of us and try and keep tabs on all us kids for a evening of fun and e xcitement. Do you remember the pool with the three tiered diving board. I was too timid to go to the top but loved the lower ones. As a child I can r emember admiring the "big kids" who had the confidence and guts to go off the top. A pool in those days was a real treat and one that had salt water was a rare find to be sure. Although we were full of energy while running around the amusement park catching all the rides, the ride home was usually very quiet. All kids were asleep before the car left the gates. I had no idea I'd be back at Rocky Point this afternoon reliving those wonderful times. I am certain I have pictures of us at the park somewhere. I just might go looking for them !!! You made my day especially happy with your photos. Thanks again. DBW dana wehking
Hello, My name is Pat and i'll make my story as breif as possible. On my way home from work today out of no where I wondered " Is there any known website of the late 'n' great Rocky Point?" Well I was totally stoked to see there was!!!!!! And I gotta say it is a very good site!!! Those to young to remember can definitley learn a bit from your site alone, not to mention the useful links provided!!!! Kudos to great people like you!!!!!!! Rocky Point was a special place for me, my family, and about ten thousand other people in our little "big" state!!!!! Late last summer, me and my girlfreind snuck inside to see what it looked like (she'd been in there about two summers ago; took good pics) and was amazed by how my memmories came back to me!!! As a young boy, going there since the late 70's, 80's and 90's, I couldn't help but realize how short the walk down t he main road was! That road as a kid seemed too long from the backseat of my mums car looking to my right, saying to my older sister " If I'm tall enuff this year, will you take me on that Ride?" (The Flume). Whatta' time warp!!! And I remember on mt 8th birthday my godfather took me and my sister there and really wanting to go on the new roller coaster that was built(CORKSCREW) but my godfather didn't want to pay the additional fee ( as you remember) so we went on the Cyclone instead!! Well back to last summer. Where do ya think me and my girlfriend headed? That's right, the old FunHouse!!! The towers had collapsed (sad sight) due to our New England weather conditions, but was able to sneek inside!! I was trying to get myself up the catwalk but chickened out. Was I afraid of heights? No, just the big fat scary lady that holds residency up there!!! And was totally stoked to see the old cars lined up the tracks!!! Our trip was short and wanted to go back later, but as we all know some stupid A@##! had to set that fire and ruined it for future R.P. enthusiests. Rocky Point was OUR park!! It was no Six Flags, but it was OURS!! It will be sadly missed. I read were you say thanx to those who submit storeis to the site, I just wanted to THANK YOU for putting this page together. Awesome job guys!!!!!! Sorry if my story wasn't as breif as I mentioned, I couldn't help myself. I'm sure you understand!!!!! PAT
Wow, Thank You!! Great job! Brought back alot of memories, i still have My Ex husbands Employee Id card from there! I've held on to it since 1974 THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!! Cheryl McRoberts
I stumbled across your website today and was absolutely thrilled at all the
Hello, My name is Annie and I used to work at Rocky Point as part of the Kiddieland Crew. I got the link to your site from a friend of mine who also worked there. I love the pictures that you have. I am building a site and I was wondering if I could use some of your pictures for my site? It would be a great help to me and I would give you credit for it as well. I noticed that you have something metioning 911 which is wonderful. I was wondering why you don't have anything for 2-20-03, The RI Fire aka The Station Nightclub Fire. Here are two pics if you want to add it. Us whichever one you want to. I hope to here from you soon. Thank you, Annie
Hello there! perations for Rocky Point for over 20 years and left there just a couple of years before they shut down. Thanks for bringing back such nice memories.
I really almost forgot about Rocky Point until I drove by it w/ my mother and I took a picture of the gate which I enclosed but when I saw your pictures it brought back memories from the last time I had gone which was when I was 4 I am now almost 16 but I can still remember the things that were there. I think that your site is great and you should get word out about it and get people to realize how great it really was. Maybe people will start petitions to try to get the park reopened. I have heard that six flags had tried to buy the land but people didn't like that idea so they may be building condominiums there which would be a waste because there are the Lighthouse estates down the road. Well, I have to go now but I do think that you should get the word out about your website. (P.S.- I also attached the pictures to be downloaded in case you can't take them off of this email.) What a wonderful site! Especially for those of us, like me, grew up in the '70's when these parks were, in my opinion, in their prime. I moved away from New England back in '82, so it's a real shock for me now to see these horrible pictures of decaying theme parks that are so alive and vivid in my mind. I still remember as a kid in the '70's staring at the height limit sign in front of the roller coaster at Lincoln Park. I desperately wished I could grow taller on the spot! Also, I loved going to Rocky Point and riding the rides. Never forget the time I was there, sometime back in the late '70's, and someone took their soda pop on a ride with them. (Smart, huh?) Seconds after the ride began, it was all over the people in the seats behind him! I still laugh to this day! Sorry to see these parks in s uch a bad state, like a part of New England history is gone forever. These little theme parks were truly gems, too bad the next generation of kids will never get to enjoy them. Thanks for the memories! -Andrew Just wanted to know if there was a simple way to get into the park now…. I know signs are currently posted, but I would like to jump in to take some pics for myself as I grew up there and managed The pizza stand for three years…. Anyhow, if you can help, let me know…I’d like to get in there before they sell it to some condo development people. Thanks, Dan
my name is Lisa, and i just wanted to say i think you have a great site. I went to rocky point all the time when i was little. its sad seeing the pics of the place now. I want to go there myself so bad to take pics of my own. I dont want to see the park turn into houses. I would love to see the video of your trip. who noticed you were in the park? I love your pics, and i would love to hear anything new you find out about the park. Thanks agian for your site! ~ Lisa |
