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In depth

Amusement Parks: Delgrosso’s Amusement Park – a Potted History

Related: Conneaut Lake Park / Jenkinson’s Broadwalk / Steel Pier / Seaworld San Antonio 

DelGrosso’s amusement park is located in a suburb of Altoona, PA called Tipton which is in Blair County.

The amusement park was originally opened back in 1907 on the farmland of the Blands’ family by the Rinard Brothers when they set up a carnival there to entertain the public and, right up to 2000, it was still called ‘Bland’s Park’. 

The amusement park was bought by the DelGrosso family in 1946. Apart from the amusement park itself, DelGrosso’s is also famous for its ‘DelGrosso’s Foods’ empire featuring popular sauces, salsa, meatballs and plenty of other Italian culinary delights.

Once the amusement park was in the hands of the DelGrosso’s, it began to grow more rapidly over the 1950s with the introduction of more rides for both adults and young children. 

The 1980s and 90s saw the DelGrosso’s embark upon a multi-million dollar investment project when further new rides were added, a walkway was built across U.S Route 220 to further enhance the safety of visitors to the amusement park. Other attractions which were added to the amusement park around this time included an 18-hole miniature golf course and a speedway, featuring 20 go karts, which hurtle around a winding track. 

Popular rides at the amusement park include Crazy Mouse, XScream Tower and Freefall.

In 1997, water attractions were first introduced to the amusement park. Today, the Tipton Waterworks section of the amusement park features two slides, spray guns and a huge bucket which dumps hundreds of gallons of water onto the visitors whilst the Rapids section houses 5 slides.

One of the landmark attractions at the amusement park for lovers of amusement park history, however, is the antique Carouselle, which dates back to the 1920s and features 36 completely hand-carved horses. It is one of only 30 of its type left in Pennsylvania and only one of 70 in the entire U.S.

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