From the main gate, visitors could gambol down the beautiful lakefront promenade to the various midway concessions, casino with adjacent swimming pools, roller coaster rides, elegant hotel ...and two small stadiums featuring circus acts, as well as equestrian shows.
Despite the half million dollars the owners invested in building new roller coasters and other upgraded facilities throughout the 1920's, they never realized the profits they were hoping for. The ever expanding Crystal Beach Amusement park just a few miles down the shore was drawing more and more visitors away from Erie Beach with newer and more exciting rides. Of most serious import though .. was the stock market crash of 1929, the beginning of the Great Depression...and the alarming subsequnt drop in attendance in the summer of 1930. These factors were the final death knell for Erie Beach Grove. The elegant park was closed just after Labour Day 1930, and demolished.
Click here for further reading ..and historical pictures of Erie Beach Park
Western NY Heritage Website about Erie Beach
Erie Beach Grove, September 14, 2006
Photography by Phil Coman
