Freedomland U.S.A.

The Definitive History

by Michael R. Virgintino | Release Date: January 28, 2019 | Availability: Print, Kindle

The Story of America's Park

After being fired by Walt Disney, the flamboyant C.V. Wood brought his hard-won experience as the self-titled "master builder of Disneyland" east, to a marsh in the Bronx, where in 1960 he unveiled his greatest project, a doomed theme park to tell the history of America: Freedomland.

Wood's efforts to build his "Disneyland of the East," a themed collection of lands that presented epic moments in American history as thrill rides, shows, and live action, were plagued from the start by politics, cost overruns, and financial chicanery. Despite these obstacles, the park prospered—until its big-money backers (as they had planned from the start) pulled the plug and cleared the land for lucrative urban development.

Through a well-researched narrative, personal and newspaper accounts, interviews, and exclusive photos, journalist and author Michael R. Virgintino presents the definitive history of Freedomland, from the people behind its creation, and the executives, entertainers, and sponsors who kept it running, to in-depth looks at each of its historically themed lands, and an analysis of the park's inevitable bankruptcy in 1964.

Unlike Disneyland, the story of Freedomland does not have a happily ever after, but theme park fans will not want to miss this captivating but cautionary tale of America's park.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Bronx!

Chapter 2: Creation of the Theme Park

Chapter 3: Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood

Chapter 4: The Building of Freedomland U.S.A.

Chapter 5: The World’s Largest Entertainment Center

Chapter 6: Corporate Sponsors and Food Vendors

Chapter 7: Little Old New York: 1850–1900

Chapter 8: Chicago: 1871

Chapter 9: Friendly Freedomlanders: The Park Employees

Chapter 10: The Great Plains: 1803–1900

Chapter 11: Freedomland’s Character Actors

Chapter 12: San Francisco: 1906

Chapter 13: The Old Southwest: 1890

Chapter 14: The Freedomland Record Album

Chapter 15: New Orleans and Mardi Gras

Chapter 16: Freedomland Collectibles

Chapter 17: Satellite City: The Future

Chapter 18: Musical Entertainment at Freedomland

Chapter 19: Others Associated with Freedomland

Chapter 20: Memories of Freedomland

Chapter 21: Radio/Television Broadcasts from Freedomland

Chapter 22: Long-Forgotten Freedomland Stories

Chapter 23: Freedomland in the News and in Books

Chapter 24: Freedomland Faux Pas

Chapter 25: 1964: Freedomland’s Final amp; Knapp

Chapter 27: Bankruptcy and the Building of Co-op City

Chapter 28: Freedomland’s Connections to Other Parks

Chapter 29: Freedomland Commemorated

Chapter 30: Postscript

Appendix: Freedomland U.S.A. Fun Facts

My parents came from the Bronx, the South Bronx to be specific. Raphael F. Virgintino came from 436 East 145th Street. Jennie Tomao was from 335 East 148th Street. They met as teenagers. My father was drafted into the U.S. Navy near the end of World War II. After his service, he and my mother were married during 1947.

My parents moved to Elmhurst, Queens, to start their life as a couple. During 1951, they purchased a new brick row house for about $8,000 in the northeast part of the Bronx on a ridge that overlooked the valley that swept into Eastchester Bay. That part of the borough had been open fields with a scattering of houses that dated to the late 1800s and early 1900s. As the veterans returned home, additional streets were established and each became filled with rows of brick homes along with semi-attached dwellings and the occasional stand-alone house. Most of the yards were the size of a postage stamp.

I came along a handful of years after my parents moved to Mickle Avenue. A few years later, Freedomland U.S.A. rose in the valley. Not realizing it at the time, I was at the right place at the right time.

Thanks to my parents, I experienced a wonderful 1950s and 1960s childhood in a neighborhood filled with kids and places to play ball, even if some of those places were the streets. The sewer plates served as home plate and second base, or the goal lines for touch football. Part of my childhood also included Freedomland.

We all heard about Disneyland, but few, if any, of us traveled to California during summer vacation. Stay-cations mostly were the norm, with an occasional venture to a nearby state. My summer fun at Freedomland captured my imagination and nurtured my love for American history. With my parents opening doors for me to experience Manhattan’s many museums, the Gettysburg battlefield, and the history of the Hudson Valley, my passion for our history continued to grow long after Freedomland closed its gates.

I never forgot about that wonderful place where it all began for me. Over the years, as a writer, journalist, public relations executive, and history buff, I have written about many different topics for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and online publications while also hosting and participating in radio and television programs. During more recent years, I began to focus more on Freedomland. With the coming age of social media, I started the Freedomland Facebook page (Freedomland U.S.A.—The World’s Largest Entertainment Center) and then added Twitter and Instagram accounts to reach more people who shared my interest in American and theme park history, 1960s culture, and, specifically, a great park in the Bronx.

A lot of the research about Freedomland appears in these social media spaces, dovetailing with the articles I have written, media interviews, and presentations. Considerable time is dedicated to correcting other past and current articles and social media posts that contain misinformation about the park. A lot of effort, research, and time also have been poured into this book.

For several reasons, not everything about Freedomland appears between these covers. Some stories never have been documented in notes or archives. Memories have been lost as papers and photos were discarded and when people died as part of the journey of life. Some stories still require additional research. Several new pieces to the overall Freedomland puzzle will be located while you are paging through this book. Finally, I determined that not one more word could be squeezed within the covers.

Thanks to the creation of social media and the digitization of old newspapers, magazines, and other printed material, the research, documentation, and stories related to Freedomland will continue to add to the overall storyline of this magnificent park that could have and should have lasted to this very day. Unfortunately, other factors that were beyond the control of all who loved the park took Freedomland away from us after only five seasons.

Now, if you are ready, let’s go back in time. Ask your mom and dad to take your hand and bring you out to Freedomland!

Michael R. Virgintino

Michael R. Virgintino is a marketing communications executive who began his career in the newsrooms of New York City area radio stations. He has directed corporate, nonprofit, and product-branding initiatives that rely on public relations, public affairs, corporate social responsibility, community relations, and related strategies. He also is an historian who writes about the American Revolution, the Civil War, and other topics, and he has, over the years, offered his communications capabilities to support the preservation of American history and historical sites across the country. He grew up in the shadow of Freedomland and created the popular Freedomland Facebook memory page several years ago.

About Theme Park Press

Theme Park Press is the world's leading independent publisher of books about the Disney company, its history, its films and animation, and its theme parks. We make the happiest books on earth!

Our catalog includes guidebooks, memoirs, fiction, popular history, scholarly works, family favorites, and many other titles written by Disney Legends, Disney animators and artists, Mouseketeers, Cast Members, historians, academics, executives, prominent bloggers, and talented first-time authors.

We love chatting about what we do: drop us a line, any time.

Theme Park Press Books

The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion The Ride Delegate 501 Ways to Make the Most of Your Walt Disney World Vacation The Cotton Candy Road Trip The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney Disney Destinies Disney Melodies The Happiest Workplace on Earth Storm over the Bay A Historical Tour of Walt Disney World: Volume 1 Mouse in Transition Mouseketeers Down Under Murder in the Magic Kingdom Walt Disney and the Promise of Progress City Service with Character Son of Faster Cheaper A Tale of Two Resorts I Saw Ariel Do a Keg Stand The Adventures of Young Walt Disney Death in the Tragic Kingdom Two Girls and a Mouse Tale Ears & Bubbles The Easy Guide 2015 Who's the Leader of the Club? Disney's Hollywood Studios Funny Animals Life in the Mouse House The Book of Mouse Disney's Grand Tour The Accidental Mouseketeer The Vault of Walt: Volume 1 The Vault of Walt: Volume 2 The Vault of Walt: Volume 3 Who's Afraid of the Song of the South? Amber Earns Her Ears Ema Earns Her Ears Sara Earns Her Ears Katie Earns Her Ears Brittany Earns Her Ears Walt's People: Volume 1 Walt's People: Volume 2 Walt's People: Volume 13 Walt's People: Volume 14 Walt's People: Volume 15

We're always in the market for new authors with great ideas. Or great authors with new ideas. Whichever type of author you are, we'd be happy to discuss your book. Before you contact us, however, please make sure you can answer "yes" to these threshold questions:

Is It Right for Us?

We specialize in books that have some connection to Disney or theme parks. Disney, of course, has become a broad topic, and encompasses not just theme parks and films but comic books, animation, and a big chunk of pop culture. Your book should fit into one (or more) of those broad categories.

Is It Going to Make Money?

There's never a guarantee that any book will make money, but certain types of books are less likely to do so than others. They include: hardcovers, books with color photos, and books that go on forever ("forever" as in 400+ pages). We won't automatically turn down these types of books, but you'll have to be a really good salesman to convince us.

Are You Great to Work With?

Writing books and publishing books should be fun. The last thing you want, and the last thing we want, is a contentious relationship. We work with authors who share our philosophy of no drama and zero attitude, and the desire for a respectful, realistic, mutually beneficial partnership.