Will anyone listen to new controller?
What won what where
I don't remember what got it started, but a recent search sent me hopping from place to place across the web and, ultimately, diverted me onto the subject of old Venice amusement parks. This ad for Hoppyland, which was backed by William Boyd, the actor who played Hopalong Cassidy in movie and TV westerns, ran in the L.A. Times in 1951. A Venice history website has the story of Hoppyland with photos. Somebody else has memories online here. Another site sells a 15-minute video of the opening ceremonies on May 17, 1951. I'd never heard of the place, but isn't the web a grand invention?
More by Kevin Roderick:
Ralph Lawler of the Clippers and the age of AquariusRiding the Expo Line to USC 'just magical'
Last bastion of free parking? Loyola Marymount to charge students
Matt Kemp, Dodgers and Kings start big weekend the right way
LA Times writers revisit their '92 riots observations
Recent History stories on LA Observed:
The other horrible April 29 date in Los Angeles historyKNBC 'live-tweeting' the run-up to '92 riots
When Muhammad Ali boxed in LA - and posed for pictures *
MALDEF sues sheriff over withheld Ruben Salazar files
Scenes from a convention - Los Angeles, 1960
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