Vintage photos capture Palace Playland in the ’60s and ’70s
In this photo that ran in the Portland Press Herald on Sept. 4, 1978, kids were lined up to ride the ferris wheel at Palace Playland at Old Orchard Beach. (Doug Jones/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
You can’t have a proper summer in Maine without a visit to an amusement park. One such spot is Palace Playland, right on Old Orchard Beach. With a variety of rides and games, the park has been entertaining locals and tourists since the early 1900s.
Here are six photos of thrill seekers enjoying the park in the ’60s and ’70s.
In a photo that ran in the Evening Express on July 14, 1960, Thomas Leon Cummings, 2, stands with his mother Carmen Cummings of Portland in front of a crazy mirror at Palace Playland amusement park in Old Orchard Beach. (Charles H. Merrill/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
Riders go around and around on the Himalaya at Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach in a Portland Press Herald photo dated Aug. 31, 1973. (John Patriquin/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
A lone rider on the Galaxi roller coaster at Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach as seen in a Portland Press Herald photo than ran on Aug. 31, 1973. The coaster’s first drop was 74 feet. (John Patriquin/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
The Scrambler ride at Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach in a Portland Press Herald photo that ran on Aug. 31, 1973. (John Patriquin/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
In this photo that ran in the Portland Press Herald on Sept. 4, 1978, a young person waves from a ride at Palace Playland at Old Orchard Beach. (Doug Jones/Staff Photographer. Photo courtesy Portland Public Library Special Collections and Archives)
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Aimsel Ponti is a music writer and content producer for the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with – and inspired by – music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town. More by Aimsel Ponti
