Editing Amusement park (section)

===Origins===
[[File: Sea-On-Land.jpg|thumb|[[Frederick Savage (engineer)|Frederick Savage]]'s 'Sea-On-Land' [[carousel]], where riders would pitch up and down as if they were on the sea, was the first amusement ride installed in [[Dreamland Margate]] in 1880 England.]]
[[File:Vauxhall Gardens by Samuel Wale c1751.jpg|thumb|[[Vauxhall Gardens]] in [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]], United Kingdom, founded in 1661, one of the first [[pleasure garden]]s]]

The amusement park evolved from traditions in the European [[Middle Ages]]. An amusement park is a contemporary arrangement, designed to combine components of a fair, carnival, and theme park. An early example of an amusement park is the [[Bartholomew Fair]].<ref>{{Cite book| author=Salvator Anton Clave| title=The Global Theme Park Industry| year=2007| publisher=CABI| isbn=9781845932084| page=4}}</ref> By the 18th and 19th centuries, they had evolved into places of entertainment for the masses, where the public could view [[freak show]]s, [[acrobatics]], [[Magic (illusion)|conjuring]], and [[juggling]], take part in competitions and walk through [[menagerie]]s.

A wave of innovation in the 1860s and 1870s created mechanical rides, such as the steam-powered [[carousel]] (built by Thomas Bradshaw, at the [[Aylsham|Aylsham Fair]]), and its derivatives, notably from Frederick Savage of [[King's Lynn]], Norfolk whose fairground machinery was exported all over the world; his "galloping horses" innovation is seen in carousels today.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/museums/downloads/learning/kings-lynn/a-history-of-savages.pdf?la=en |title=Frederick Savage, Victorian fairground manufacturer of King's Lynn |website=Norfolk.gov.uk |access-date=25 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032745/https://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/-/media/museums/downloads/learning/kings-lynn/a-history-of-savages.pdf?la=en |archive-date=26 February 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> This inaugurated the era of the modern funfair ride, as the working classes were increasingly able to spend their surplus wages on entertainment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/rides/history.html |title=Fairground Rides - A Chronological Development |publisher=University of Sheffield |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811021142/https://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/rides/history.html |archive-date=11 August 2011 }}</ref>

The second influence was the [[pleasure garden]]. [[Dyrehavsbakken|Bakken]] ("The Hill"), the world's oldest amusement park, opened in [[Continental Europe|mainland Europe]] in 1583. It is located north of [[Copenhagen]] in Klampenborg, [[Denmark]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bakken.dk/english/bakken-the-worlds-oldest-amusement-park|title=Bakken History -History about the hill|access-date=31 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222033757/http://www.bakken.dk/english/bakken-the-worlds-oldest-amusement-park|archive-date=22 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://napha.org/LIBRARYRESOURCES/FactsFigures/WorldsOldestOperatingAmusementParks/tabid/70/Default.aspx|title=Worlds Oldest Operating Amusement Parks|publisher=National Amusement Park Historical Association|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>

Another example in early garden was the [[Vauxhall Gardens]], founded in 1661, in London. By the late 18th century, the site had an admission fee for its many attractions. It regularly drew enormous crowds, with its paths often noted for romantic assignations; tightrope walkers, hot air balloon ascents, concerts and fireworks providing amusement. Although the gardens were originally designed for the elites, they soon became places of great social diversity. Public [[firework]] displays were put on at [[Marylebone Gardens]], and [[Cremorne Gardens, London|Cremorne Gardens]] offered music, dancing, and animal acrobatics displays.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Wroth, A. E.|url=https://archive.org/details/londonpleasureg00wrotgoog|title=The London Pleasure Gardens of the Eighteenth Century|year=1896|publisher=MacMillan}}</ref>

[[Prater]], located in [[Vienna]], Austria, began as a royal hunting ground which was opened in 1766 for public enjoyment. There followed coffee-houses and cafés, which led to the beginnings of the [[Wurstelprater]] as an amusement park.

The concept of a fixed park for amusement was further developed with the beginning of the [[world's fair]]s. [[The Great Exhibition|The first World fair]] began in 1851 with the construction of the landmark [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]] in London, England. The purpose of the exposition was to celebrate the industrial achievement of the nations of the world and it was designed to educate and entertain the visitors.<ref name="Midway">{{cite web|title=World's Fairs (1853–1897): A New Idea |work=Midway Plaisance |url=http://www.icewind.net/themepark/History/h_worldfairs.htm |access-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209022544/http://www.icewind.net/themepark/History/h_worldfairs.htm |archive-date=9 December 2007 }}</ref>

[[File:Ferris-wheel.jpg|thumb|The original [[Ferris Wheel (1893)|Ferris Wheel]] at the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in [[Chicago]] in 1893]]
In the [[United States]], cities and businesses also saw the world's fair as a way of demonstrating economic and industrial success.<ref name="Midway"/> The [[World's Columbian Exposition]] of 1893 in [[Chicago]], Illinois was an early precursor to the modern amusement park. The fair was an enclosed site, that merged entertainment, engineering and education to entertain the masses. It set out to bedazzle the visitors, and successfully did so with a blaze of lights from the "White City."<ref name="Adams"/> To make sure that the fair was a financial success, the planners included a dedicated amusement concessions area called the [[Midway Plaisance]].<ref name="Midway"/> Rides from this fair captured the imagination of the visitors and of amusement parks around the world, such as the first steel [[Ferris wheel]], which was found in many other amusement areas, such as the [[Prater]] by 1896. Also, the experience of the enclosed ideal city with wonder, rides, culture and progress (electricity), was based on the creation of an illusory place.<ref name="Adams"/>

The "[[Midway (fair)|midway]]" introduced at the Columbian Exposition would become a standard part of most amusement parks, fairs, carnivals, and circuses. The midway contained not only the rides, but other concessions and entertainments such as [[Shooting range#Shooting gallery|shooting galleries]], [[Penny arcade (venue)|penny arcades]], [[games of chance]], and shows.<ref name="Alter">{{cite book | last =Alter | first =Judy | title =Amusement Parks | publisher =Franklin Watts | year =1997 | location =Amazing New York | isbn =0-531-20304-2 | url =https://archive.org/details/amusementparksro00alte }}</ref>