Noah's Ark (fun house)

Noah's Ark is a type of amusement park walk-through attraction built between 1919 and 1936. It features a fun house in the shape of the biblical vessel found in the Genesis flood narrative. As such, most Noah's Arks featured scenes depicting animals and the biblical prophet Noah alongside traditional fun house gags.

History

The first Noah’s Ark appeared at Venice Pier (California) in 1919. The attraction was designed and built by Leroy Ramond who sold the manufacturing rights to William Dentzel the following year.^[1]

Noah's Ark today

There is only one remaining Noah's Ark in operation at Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although there is a Noah's Ark at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England, it has not been operational since 2008 and now serves as a decorative element at the park entrance.

Notable installations

Location	Opened	Closed	Builder	Notes
Blackpool Pleasure Beach	1922	2008	William Strickler	Closed
Kennywood Amusement Park	1936	–	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	Refurbished in 1969, 1996, 2016
Venice Pier (California)	1919	1940	Dentzel	First installation
Frontierland, Morecambe	1920s	2000		Park demolished 2010
Steeplechase Park	1923	1929
Old Orchard Pier	1929	1969		Destroyed by fire [2]

References

1. Styer, Joel (12 August 1999). "The Noah's Ark". laffinthedark.com. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
2. "Paradise Lost – The Last Voyage Of Noah's Ark P. 1". laffinthedark.com.