Guest Book
Date: 10/3/2006 Time: 6:43:58 AM
Comments: What a memory! Thanks for the site and bringing back memories. Sure do miss it not being here. Definitely was an attraction to visit. I moved to this area in 1974 and my children remember going there. In fact, my youngest son, who is now in his early 40's, asked me to take his son there last year so he'd remember it also. He didn't realize it was no longer. I agree that if it was here today, it would succeed. Remember the soundtrack of Grease being played as you walked through the park. Thanks for the memories.
Date: 9/29/2006 Time: 8:16:38 PM
Comments: Aris G. Scarla agscar at yahoo.com
Date: 9/29/2006 Time: 8:15:49 PM
Comments: Great website. What a shame Legend City had to go. Just another reminder of the nice things we had growing up in the good old days in the Phoenix metro area. This place is just an overcrowded crime infested metropolis now. Wish we could go back in time. Thanks, Aris G. Scarla, 52 year old native
Date: 9/24/2006 Time: 5:42:56 PM
Comments: Thanks for all the great pics! I have a number of old Phoenix friends who are going to just love this site. Great memories!
Date: 9/22/2006 Time: 8:23:50 PM
Comments: Thanks so much for bringing back those great memories! Most of my childhood visits were from 1962 through the early 70's and something I'll never forget. Too bad the Legend City Locomotive is only stored and in bad shape at that. Would make a nice addition to Phoenix as a historical item.
Date: 9/20/2006 Time: 12:45:37 PM
Comments: man i miss them days!!!
Date: 8/29/2006 Time: 2:40:03 PM
Comments: I think of Legend City with fond memories. I fell in love there for the first time. His name was Grant and I loved him all the way through 9th grade. Then I fell in love with Hub Kapp. In fact, I still have my membership card from the Hub Kapp fan club and a 45 record of Hub and the Wheels singing Boney Maroney. Thanks for the wonderful memories, Legend City.
Nikki Thackeray Date: 8/21/2006 Time: 3:06:07 PM
Comments: I enjoyed the park as a child and sad to know my children have never seen this park. Thank you for the memories.
Date: 8/18/2006 Time: 10:45:38 AM
Comments: WOW...I really miss the old Phoenix area. What a great place to grow up. Kids today need something like this.
Date: 8/15/2006 Time: 1:00:35 PM
Comments: I have lived in Forney TX for 13 years now, after proudly being a native Arizonian. I grew up in the Valley of the Sun from 1953 [when I was born at Good Samaritan Hospital] until 1993. I fondly remember the Valley during those days, especially Legend City, have no idea how many times I went there, and, of course, Wallace and Ladmo. They were part of my family for years and years. I thank God for the wholesome memories of those days gone by...blessed memories. Patty Thomas~Barker
Date: 7/29/2006 Time: 6:21:23 PM
Comments: Great to find this site. I feel like I grew up with Legend City. We moved to Tempe in the late 1960s so it was a huge deal to go to LC as a kid. My Dad worked at SRP so they had a few SRP Days around Christmas. When I was a Sr in HS (1977) I got a job as a ride operator and worked there for about 7 months. Started out on the mini-golf course then worked at the mine ride for a while. That was a blast ... there were usually 2 ride ops so one of us would sit in the mine to make sure everyone behaved. When boredom hit we'd jump on the back of the carts and scare the crap out of the riders. Worked most of the summer at the bumper cars with my best friend from HS. Gave our boss whiplash on the ride when we were screwing around before the park opened. Spent the rest of my time working as a relief operator so I'd run all the rides � log ride, sky diver, sky ride, tilt-a-whirl, flying cloud, zipper, music fest, yo-yo �. Hated working the rides in kiddie land. It was great working at the city as an 18 year old..... lots of partying after work, sneaking beer from the Saloon after the park closed, saw Spanky Spangler jump from one of the sky ride towers into a pile of flaming boxes (I think), and trying to catch the Wallace & Ladmo show! Lots of fond memories of the park both as a kid and an employee. Thanks for putting this site together. Cathy
Date: 7/27/2006 Time: 4:17:11 PM
Comments: Wow, what a treasure trove from my childhood. Thank you for bringing back great memories, C Parscal
Date: 7/24/2006 Time: 2:14:04 AM
Comments: I had my first real birthday party at Legend City right before it closed. Great memories.... I miss how Phx used to be before all these people from California and the midwest moved in.
Date: 7/22/2006 Time: 8:06:58 AM
Comments: Great site, John. I especially love the audio files. I, too, used to take my tape recorder into the Lost Dutchman's Mine, or on the River Run (with Sgt. Dave!). I've long since tossed my tapes, but it's great to hear yours.
Thanks again! Kevin Hall ikebelt@excite.com Date: 7/13/2006 Time: 10:56:31 PM
Comments: Thank you for this site! I spent so much time at Legand City as a kid, I've told my kids all about it. I just wish it was still around for me to take my family too. My husband & I are both Chandler, AZ natives and we both have treasured memories of L.C... I'll have to see if I've got any old pictures to share with you.
Thanks again! Cristy Pleasant, Chandler, AZ Date: 7/13/2006 Time: 6:39:23 PM
Comments: My high school year book, in 1969, shot all the club photos at Legend City. That was totally fun. Even though none of the rides were working, we had a blast.
Thanks for this site. It's a great tribute to a wonderful part of my growing up. Ann Swiger Date: 7/9/2006 Time: 10:42:24 AM
Comments: I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO HAVE A COPY OF THE ENTRANCE TO LEGEND CITY. I AM AZ NATIVE AND WAS A REGULAR OF THE PARK AS A CHILD.
PLEASE ADVISE THANK YOU GARY MARKICHEVICH garym@sunvalcoathletic.com Date: 7/8/2006 Time: 3:21:30 PM
Comments: Excellent site ! I really loved Legend City as a kid, and often think back on it fondly.
Date: 7/7/2006 Time: 8:25:27 AM
Comments: Great work! This site brings back so many positive memories. I had a wonderful time visiting your site, and discussing old Legend City memories with your wife. Legend City was the outing of my first chaperoned date. Much thanks, Lawrence!
Date: 6/29/2006 Time: 4:53:50 PM
Comments: Funny, I was talking to someone who said they were taking their family to Disneyland and I started to tell them that Arizona once had an Amusement Park here called Legend City. I decided to look on the internet to learn when Legend City first opened and actually closed. My Aunt & Uncle took me to Legend City in 1973 and that was the only time I went and we went in the evening. But I remember it well because I saw a scorpian for the first time too. I am glad I went. Thank you for being there.
Date: 6/26/2006 Time: 9:54:49 PM
Comments: I was 13 when the park closed. I remember going, but my memories are faint. Thanks for this great site, has helped to put some things together.
Sad though. LC is such a symbol of a bygone era, both for AZ and the world in general. The days when life, and entertainment could be simple and innocent. It didn't have to be 'extreme' or 'in-your-face'. Folks could have fun riding goofy rides and eating caramel apples. Now kids aren't happy unless they've got their Ipod, gameboy and cell phone. Like the midnite $1 double-feaures at Harkins and a good ole chinese fire drill at the stoplight. LC is gone but not forgotten. Thank you for helping to keep it with us. JMC in Phoenix Date: 6/26/2006 Time: 8:58:32 PM
Comments: pretty cool amusement park. what a shame...
Date: 6/24/2006 Time: 11:53:33 AM
Comments: I remember spending alot of saturday at legend city in the seventies. My grandfather worked at SRP and would take myself and my brother and sisters on SRP days. I was saddened in 1983 when legend city closed its doors. I wish someone would print a book with colored pictures on legend city. Thanks for the wonderful website, it brought back alot of great memories to me. Ron Chavez
ronchavez@hotmail.com Date: 6/23/2006 Time: 7:23:12 PM
Comments: Wow, reliving the times at Legend City was awesome. I had some of the best times there during my 8th grade year with my friend and boyfriend. It's hard to believe that it is gone. It is sad to see reminders of Arizona in the early years being torn down for new development. As I type my high school (Coronado) is being torn down and rebuilt. Soon there won't be any reminders of the west's most western town. We need a new LC so that our children and grandchildren can see what makes Arizona such an awesome place to live. WLV
Date: 6/9/2006 Time: 6:27:32 PM
Comments: My family and friends "grew up" with Legend City. We had ALL our birthday parties there in the 60's! Thanks for sharing memories on this website...
We all wish Legend City would rise from the ashes again- it was a fun and popular place! :) Debbie Weber Coor Date: 6/6/2006 Time: 8:47:02 AM
Comments: What a blast from the past. I spent a lot of time at Legend City when I was a teen. I just came across some tickets I have from then and I loved remembering all the fun I used to have there.
Date: 5/31/2006 Time: 2:48:51 PM
Comments: Wow flashbacks galore. Thanks
Date: 5/30/2006 Time: 1:10:22 PM
Comments: I have a Legend City Ticket from 1969 for all the rides. I have a lot of great memories of Legend City
Date: 5/8/2006 Time: 11:26:29 AM
Comments: I remember spending warm summer nights at Legend City as a youth. My first roller coaster ride ever was the "Monster Mouse" in 1969, although all these years I thought it was called the "Mad Mouse". I also remember going to "Wallace and Ladmo" shows, and getting a huge sense of justice when Gerald got busted and actually got a spanking from Wallace. Legend City is the first amusement park I ever went to, and ever since, it has been the measuring stick that all others (Including the Disney parks) have been held to, and found lacking.
Date: 5/4/2006 Time: 10:53:34 PM
Comments: Thanks for this site! When Dad and I first came to Phoenix we lived just a few miles down the road from LC. Times were hard and money scarce, and it was some time before I actually got to go; that just made that much more magical. Dad hated the place, but liked seeing me have fun, so he suffered through the Wallace and Ladmo stage shows and the endless trips down the river with me.
Date: 20 Apr 2006 Time: 21:55:23
Comments: I remember when I worked in the Animal Nursery at the Phoenix Zoo we took over a chimp named Vicki to Legend City to have lunch with Johnny Weismuller-Tarzan. I think it may have been at the opening days. Do you have anything on a visit from Tarzan?!?!?! Super site-thank you so much for bringing back great memories. After working at the zoo I worked at Legend City when I went to ASU. I got two kittens who were born in the Lost Dutchman Mine and named them Galena and Feldspar. Great days, great memories-super site-thanks for putting it together.
Joy Guyer Date: 19 Apr 2006 Time: 19:01:27
Comments: You guy's did a great job on this site! for years now I've missed the 'City'. Your site brought back great memories. If you find any movie footage that would be great to place on this site as well. I'm a native, and now is a good time to have a Legend City back! Thanx guy's, The Gibbons family.
Date: 13 Apr 2006 Time: 09:07:11
Comments: I can remember being AMAZED at the water running uphill in the Dutchman's Shack. Can somebody tell me HOW they did that?? What great memories on this site. Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald still remain my favorite entertainers, the sincere love of kids came thru in everything they did.
Windy (Williams) Crow Date: 05 Apr 2006 Time: 13:43:08
Comments: I remember this place. I've lived here all my life. It was lots of fun. I remeber there was roller costers and lots of people. I wish they would re-open this place.
Sincerly, Angela Horton Date: 02 Apr 2006 Time: 00:43:18
Comments: We just found this website today and it is awesome! Legend City was so ahead of its time and it was a such quality project. I was a freshman at ASU in 1963 and I met this hunky guy...he has been my husband for 42 years. For our second date, he took me to Legend City. We have a photo that was taken that night; we were two bathing beauties at the Tin Type Gallery! I cherish that picture and the wonderful memories of that special night! Years later, we would take our two children to Legend City where they would experience the same thrills as we did. It was one of their favorite places to spend time...even better than Disneyland!
One of my treasured memories (though I didn't think so at the time) was when I saw a clown wearing a one piece jumpsuit covered in enormous bright flowers. She also wore a brightly colored rainbow wig. I was horrified when I saw her costume. I was wearing the exact outfit except for the wig! It was one of my favorite things to wear but after that night I couldn't even look at it without wondering how dorky I must have looked in it! Thanks for helping keep the memories of the Legend alive! We can't wait to share our find with our son; he will be so happy to see the photos and relive the past. He was and still is a huge fan of Wallace and Ladmo. Some things thankfully never change. They can tear down the physical things we love, but they cannot take away our memories. Ron and Bernita in Tempe Date: 31 Mar 2006 Time: 22:40:48
Comments: Just happened to come accross this site, one hell of a job! This literally brought tears to my eyes. Those really were the good old days, Wallace & Ladmo, Mike, and of course the Phoenix Giants were fun to watch next doo. Thanks!
Mark Smith - 40 year Phx resident Date: 30 Mar 2006 Time: 14:15:07
Comments: I was 14 when Legend City opened & remember fondly times there. We lived in west Phoenix, so we didn't get over there very much, but once I started driving my friends & I would go over there. Remembered watching Hub Kap & the Wheels when they were just starting & after they got BIG (thanks, Pat McMahon). Kids today don't know what they missed out on!
Date: 14 Mar 2006 Time: 10:04:33
Comments: What fun memories! My 13th birthday party was spent at Legend City (August 31, 1973), and I will never forget riding on the Paratroopers till I was sick, singing and laughing with my friends. Thanks for a visit to my past.
Date: 13 Mar 2006 Time: 15:51:51
Comments: I have been in Arizona since '92 and have heard on many occasions that there once existed an amusement park here. It's nice now to put some visual confirmation on what I have heard. I am a history buff and I love finding interesting facts about our great state that a lot of people will never get the pleasure to know about. Thank you.
Scott Levenson Gilbert, AZ Date: 07 Mar 2006 Time: 04:23:32
Comments:
Just happened to stumble across this site. I'm from Marion, Iowa and used to work in General Services at the park when the Japanese owned it back in the 70's (still have my name tags). This site brought back alot of great memories. Was interested to find out about the L.C./ Pacific Ocean Park connection. I didn't know about it. What's neat is that my father, Jerry Jacobson, was a maintenance supervisor at POP back in the 60's. L.C. was kind of a family thing for me. My sister, Joyce Stratton, was in retail at the park. My cousin, Dennis Jacobson, was General Manager for a time and his parents, Milford and Freda Jacobson, ran the games. I remember one time in particular when we (General Services) were fire hosing down the walkways getting ready for the weekend when someone came screeching up in one of the parks little white Toyota pickups and said there was a fire by the Lost Dutchmen. We threw some of our hoses in the truck and sped over there, hooked up and held the fire at bay until the Fire Dept. arrived. I think I still have the tounge-in-cheek article I wrote for the park news letter that described our "valiant effort at saving the park". What I didn't say in that article was that I think a couple guys may have been catching a smoke in that area (seems to me it was like a small bamboo patch?). Probably the same two who we caught sleeping deep inside the Lost Dutchman! You know who you are! (Ha, ha!) It was a fun time for a boy from Iowa and I miss it dearly. And I miss you, my friends- Rick Heddon, Kimma Brown, Roberta Lucero, Joe G., Kathleen, The Gunfighters, and others whose faces I still see but the years have stolen your names..... Joel D. Jacobson, Marion, Iowa. jdj1175@mchsi.com Date: 04 Mar 2006 Time: 00:23:52
Comments: I was 6 years old when it closed, but I remember the candy apples! Good memories!
Date: 02 Mar 2006 Time: 20:08:46
Comments: I loved Legend City i wish it could come back my best memories of my chilhood were there thanks Debbie.
Date: 28 Feb 2006 Time: 14:44:50
Comments: Everyone thought I was dillusional that arizona was home to an amusement park once upon a time....I am glad you were here to back me up. It goes to show that you can find damn near everything on the net. Thank you.
Date: 24 Feb 2006 Time: 17:35:11
Comments: I worked at the city in the 70's.
It was a great experiance, and I would not trade it for anything. Date: 19 Feb 2006 Time: 10:50:41
Comments: 2/19/06
what a great web site. it sure brought back a lot of good memories. my grandmopther took me ther often in the late 1960's. thanks for taking so much time to put together a wonderful and complete site. Sharon Douglas Date: 15 Feb 2006 Time: 18:10:20
Comments: i can't believe it a site about ledgend city this is wonderful i loved going there as a kid great site
Date: 23 Jan 2006 Time: 11:57:01
Comments: Great memories. This site has it all! Thank you for bringing back sites and sounds from the past that I thought were long lost. Long live Legend City!
Date: 21 Jan 2006 Time: 16:22:03
Comments: I was 14 years old when they closed LC. I really enjoyed looking through your website. It refreshed some great memories. Thanks for doing all this work.
Date: 19 Jan 2006 Time: 13:31:06
Comments: AWESOME WEBSITE! BRINGS BACK GREAT MEMORIES. DEFINITELY A SITE TO SHOW MY KIDS.
Date: 15 Jan 2006 Time: 21:13:10
Comments: Great site. I have fond memories of legend city having grown up in the Phoenix area in the sixties. Mike Branham class of 1969
Date: 13 Jan 2006 Time: 18:59:46
Comments: As an adult & a kid-at-heart father, I loved Legend City. I took my kids there throughout its existence & wish there was still a Legend City in AZ. If so, I'd be taking my grand-kids as often as possible. Thanks for this great site. It brought back a lot of memories. J. Hale, native-born Prescottonian
Date: 13 Jan 2006 Time: 06:54:15
Comments: This site is awesome - really brings back some memories from days past. I spent plenty of time here when I was in grade school as well as high school! Thanks for compiling this.
Date: 08 Jan 2006 Time: 00:15:22
Comments: Thanks for the trip back to a time in Phoenix and in my life when it was Great to be a kid.
Date: 07 Jan 2006 Time: 21:41:56
Comments: I visited Legend City as a small child. So, my memories of the park are very vague. I'm glad you put up this website. It has helped jog some memories.
Date: 06 Jan 2006 Time: 08:30:42
Comments: wonderful times remembered. wish my kids could have remembered it. took them there to see wallace and ladmo but they were too young to remember. makes me home sick.....
Della Williamson Date: 29 Dec 2005 Time: 12:18:51
Comments: I am an Arizona Native and it was truely a sad moment for us when Legen City closed. This was a place full of history and alot of memories for me. It is missed.
Date: 29 Dec 2005 Time: 07:02:38
Comments: If anyone has one of the Park Maps from the early to mid 70's please let me know! I am going to be making a model of the entire park hopefully to be displayed at the Arizona Historical Museum, and that map would help me out alot. Thanks.
Steve Austin email; austinsteev1@cox.net Date: 28 Dec 2005 Time: 12:38:15
Comments: Very Cool!!! Reminds me of old times, the best of times!!
Big Redd Date: 26 Dec 2005 Time: 19:01:53
Comments: My father, Donald Haley, helped build Legend City and had the first and maybe only 'Gold Camp' where people could pan for gold and keep what they found. They were given their gold samples in a plastic container with a cap on it. My mother and I worked in our concession stand where we had jewelry with gold flecks in them. My father also put a microphone in the 'miner's shack across from our concession. When people would look into the shack, my dad would talk in a gruff voice to them. Sometimes it made the people jump! It was a good time. My father is gone now, but my mother is soon to be 93 and she still remembers! So do I.
Bonnie Haley Redus Date: 21 Dec 2005 Time: 20:39:41
Comments: Sure enjoyed visiting your site John, content and layout. Susie your wife, my sister told me about it. Great Job!
Ted Date: 14 Dec 2005 Time: 07:16:00
Comments: KIDDIELAND...absolutely...are you old enough "K". to recall the "Nasty Brothers" episode on "It's Wallace?",where they're riding on all the "Kiddie Land" rides & train?
http://www.arizonaandpacificrr.com/spot/encanto/encanto.html Had few B-Day parties there,and then at the Thomas Rd. location. Desert Rat (for life too...even if "they", and we know who "they" are,keeps bulldozing it down) WL&G Fansite Date: 04 Dec 2005 Time: 13:50:38
Comments: Thanks for this great site! Like everyone else who grew up in the Valley, I have cherished memoires of Legend City and Wallace & Ladmo. I worked at the park in the summer of '69 as a waitress and dancer at the saloon. What a fantastic job! And the people who worked there sure knew how to party too! Many times we'd close up, then head out to party somewhere till early in the morning, then up again the next day to do it again.
My favorite memory at the park was the day we landed on the moon. We had the only tv in the park, and people kept coming in all day to see if it we'd landed yet. When Armstrong finally set foot on the moon, I witnessed it with a room full of people and lots of cheering. It made the experience even more memorable to have shared it with so many. What a night! Carol Date: 03 Dec 2005 Time: 03:33:18
Comments: Thanks dosen't seem to say enough but I'll say it any ways,THANK YOU for taking the time and effort to remmber when Phoenix was still a GREAT place to grow up.For the past twenty some years I have felt like a displaced refugee in my own back yard.Just like LEGEND CITY, I have out lived my time.Thanks for the cherished memories...K.Rivers Dizona a desert rat till death.
P.S. Dose anyone remmber KIDDIE LAND?? Date: 28 Nov 2005 Time: 13:57:13
Comments: I used to LIVE to go to Legend City during the 70's. I am now working at an Architecture firm that is located where the Royal London Wax Museum used to be. When i look out my office window i see the current SRP building, but every time i look out the window i remember Legend City and all the various changes it went through. I would like to know if anyone has one of the old park maps from the 70's, not the original when it opened but one that shows the giant wooded roller coaster that was never constructed. I would also like to know what restaraunt in town has the old Sky Ride car. If anyone has either of these things please let me know. Thanks so much for putting this site together.
Sincerely, Steve Austin email; austinsteev1@cox.net Date: 28 Nov 2005 Time: 07:34:46
Comments: Hi everyone!
For a week(Nov.26th-Dec.2nd maybe longer?) we'll be having some LEGEND CITY memories,and contest fun at: http://www.WallaceLadmoGerald.com There'll be several great and RARE LEGEND CITY prizes to give away. ~note to Russanne:You'll learn ALOT about Legend City and it's relationship to the local kid show WALLACE and LADMO at the fansite. Most Valley residents who visited the park, associate both of these two whenever they reflect about those great times. Rob Date: 13 Nov 2005 Time: 22:20:18
Comments: Hello all. My name is Russanne Erickson and I'm a graduate student in the history department at ASU. I'm currently writing my thesis on Legend City, and I'm looking for information about the park. More specifically, I'm interested in anyone who was a manager or owner at the park, or has information regarding the financials of Legend City, or any other information about the operation, advertising, special events, etc. Also, if anybody saw concerts at Compton Terrace, and any dates they saw those shows. You can email me at pippy281@hotmail.com Please put Legend City in the subject line so I can differentiate between that and all the junk mail hotmail sends me. Thanks! Russanne
Date: 11 Nov 2005 Time: 19:01:11
Comments: cool site brings back alot of memories
Date: 04 Nov 2005 Time: 15:55:03
Comments: It's hard to believe that this used to actually be there. We lived nearby when I was a kid, and being a little boy I loved the train. There was a handcar ride for small children that went around a small track and I remember riding on that many times.
My Dad hated the fact that they had someone there putting Legend City bumper stickers on the cars in the parking lot. Date: 04 Nov 2005 Time: 10:31:56
Comments: wow what a site!!
never been there but i have a full map of Legend city copyright date is 1963 Date: 03 Nov 2005 Time: 21:58:05
Comments: This is awesome! I moved here from N. Dakota in 1961 when I was 2. Someone asked me about how it once was. This was great to be able to show them this website. Thanks and it brought a tear to my eyes!
Date: 18 Oct 2005 Time: 11:22:05
Comments: Thank-you
Thomas Blanco Date: 17 Oct 2005 Time: 17:40:46
Comments: I love this site, wish the park was still around.
I know where one of the original skyride cars are. I emailed you with information. - Chuck Browne Date: 15 Oct 2005 Time: 02:44:38
Comments: Legend City was OUR version of Disneyland.
They have a mouse with four fingers on each hand and we had an image that looked strikingly like "Gold Dust Charlie". Frankly, I wish that LC stayed and Disneyland closed. I wish there was a way to bring it back. Same location and theme. Growing up does get in the way of life at times. Thanks for the site. I'll come back often. Date: 13 Oct 2005 Time: 20:45:31
Comments: If you had your top ten places you would go back too in a "way back machine"...
Many a night I think back to the great times I had at Legend City as a kid/teenager. My friend's father helped build a ride back in the late sixties, early seventies, and as such was allowed to have a family pass. A group of us (Mike W., Scott C., Nate K.) would go at least two to three times a week (open to close). As we ran through the entrance we would hit the arcades first since there was always a few left over extra game rounds from the night before. I remember the store called "The Company" with all the black light posters and can lights with the flicker bulbs; the ice cream parlor, and best of all, the girls we would track throughout the park in hopes for a shared ride in the sky ride. In my memories I try and trace the park with all the twists and turns, rides, and shops; the maps on this site really brought it all home. From the list of comments looks like I was not alone in finding this site a real treat and fond memory. Thanks for the great work bringing the elements together. Also thanks for all who have shared their memories. Isn't it funny how one person could inspire such a wonderful legacy of shared experiences and memories that have endured for so many. Now about that Legend City bumper sticker...Mark H. Date: 09 Oct 2005 Time: 11:40:59
Comments: I have been in the valley all my life. I spent a great deal of my time growing up at Legend City. It was an amazing place to go. I will always remember the fun we had there and I will always regret seeing it close. I hope someday there will be another "Legend City" in our city. I must say the park lived up to its name, it has become a Legend. If you grew up here in the Phoenix Area, you will remember Legend City.
Date: 03 Oct 2005 Time: 16:04:09
Comments: So glad to see that Legend City is still alive! It is great to see the old photos. How I miss those days... Jacque (Mock) White
PS: I worked in the Candy Store at Legend City Date: 30 Sep 2005 Time: 14:08:40
Comments: I wish Legend City was still available to the Valley/State/visitors...it was a friendly/fun atmosphere for kids and adults alike.
David & Cindy Evans Phoenix, Az. Date: 29 Sep 2005 Time: 07:39:09
Comments: A friend of mine sent me this, what a wonderful site this is!! As a child, I remember going to Legend City when my big brother would come home on leave from the Air Force. This was out special time together and something I will always hold dear in my heart. Thank you so much for bringing back some incredible memories.
Date: 26 Sep 2005 Time: 23:15:44
Comments: Neat site. It really brings me back. I only visited a couple of times as I moved to AZ in 1977 as an eight year old. Arizona lost an icon way back when. We need a new theme park here for sure.
Date: 21 Sep 2005 Time: 17:35:27
Comments: Great website, Brings back many memories.
I worked at Legend City when i was in high school,was a ride operator for a couple different rides. Also during the summer was employed to help clean the park fduring the day. Legend City ruled!!! Thanks for the memory Bill Majercin Date: 21 Sep 2005 Time: 01:44:00
Comments: This brings back so many wonderful memories of my childhood. I visited this place many many times. I was raised in Scottsdale and spent alot of time at Legend City in the 60's-70's. Why did this place close anyway? Thank you for a walk down memory lane. It was nice. Shirley Schoenherr
Date: 04 Sep 2005 Time: 21:54:28
Comments: I was born in 1954 too JJ....it was a very good year."It's Wallace?" began it's 35 year run,
and a man named Louis Crandall (creator of Legend City)might have started dreaming about building an amusement park in Arizona,after Walt Disney's venture around that time. But all I know people like you and I were born,or raised at the right place..and the perfect Valley times! My good buddy Jason"John Bueker" Beaver(creator of this super-fine website),and I hope to have our annual salute to LEGEND CITY this Fall,at the NEW and improved- http://www.wallaceladmogerald.com/ The Official(enough)Wallace,Ladmo & Gerald Fansite! Promises to be ALOT of fun..with plenty of Legend City and Wallace & Ladmo related prizes to give away. And ya never know who might show up there at any moment! WALLACE...PAT....even Gerald's Monster pops-in from time to time! Be sure to enter your name for our monthly BARREL DRAWINGS done by THE LEGEND...Mr. WALLACE! Desert Rat Date: 30 Aug 2005 Time: 22:43:51
Comments: Being born in Phoenix in 1954 and growing up with Wallace and Ladmo and Legend City, these reminders are wondeful of a great time in Phoenix!
My memories of Legend City, the (few) dates I took there in high school (yea Central), are sweet. To look back on it today brings tears to my eyes. Happy tears and sad tears that it is gone, Ladmo is gone and that my generation is getting... I hate to say it... old! I wish it were still there as... how I'd love to go back just one more time! Thanks! Outstanding work. Maybe someday, Legend City could be built again! Only in my dreams I guess. "JJ" Date: 29 Aug 2005 Time: 23:45:19
Comments: I started searching "Legend City" on the internet since the internet's inception in the late 80s. I came across your site and was blown away. Fantastic!!
I moved to Chicago in 1987. I grew up in south Phoenix and Legend City was a huge part of my childhood. I've been there many times and cried when they tore it down. I lost my quarters and dimes on the Skydiver because I couldn't keep the damn car from turning upside down! At 13 I rode the log ride 8 times in one night. I wanted to sit in the same car that Wallace and Ladmo were in when they filmed an Armour Hot Dog commercial. They were my Heroes!!! I was there one evening during a tragic mishap on the Zipper when a girl was thrown from the ride. I remember that the Az Republic printed many stories about it. The Park was getting bad publicity but it was not enough to keep me away in my teens when I first got my driver's license and was able to take my Laveen School friends to our beloved Legend City. I'm glad to say I was there and your site takes me there to this day. Thank you for the virtual trip back! Bill Latour Date: 15 Aug 2005 Time: 01:09:15
Comments: Thank you for making this site. I just went to visit my "uncle sonny" (Louis Crandall) in Provo UT. His museum is amazing. I was too young to remember Legend City however at least now I can see it and what all the talk is about. This is a great site!
Thank you, Christy Zandlo Date: 14 Aug 2005 Time: 11:12:19
Comments: I have some fond memories of Legend City I visited the park many times in the 60s.. I'll never forget the Lost Dutchman Shack where water ran uphill!! I also loved the Lost Dutchman mine ride where the outhouse door slams and the guy says "Can't have no privacy around here!" I went to an all night high school graduation party in 1970.. that was a lot of fun..Also I saw Wallace and Ladmo at there stage shows. The last time I visited Legend City is when they had the grand opening of "Compton Terrace" with Stevie Nicks and John Stewart... Legend City will always have a special place in my heart... Dan Griffin
Date: 13 Aug 2005 Time: 15:46:16
Comments: thank you - I've lived here since the 4th grade and am now 48. I didn't know this site existed. I am having my 30 year class reunion at Arcadia this year and someone mentioned this site in an email. I remember my teen years vividly at Legend City. It makes me said to think it's gone. Just like Compton Terrace. Thanks again for the trip down memory lane....
Jan Roberts Realtor with West USA Realty JanRoberts_Realty@yahoo.com Date: 04 Aug 2005 Time: 19:35:39
Comments: This is great!! I worked at LC from 1979 to the bittersweet end, starting on the SkyDiver with Chuck the Mutant Carnie and ending my stint working in games for my soon-to-be Father-in-Law Dave Ramage. I remember sitting around the Mexican Village in the heat, waiting for Taryn to mosey on down to give us the ride assignments ("Oh Dear Lord, please don't put me on that damn train..."). I remember the softball games, the Batcaves and rushing to Circle K to cash our paychecks after work. Does anyone remember the money drop over the park? It was the closest thing to a WKRP episode I ever saw. There were people diving in the lagoons and the logride flume hoping to catch some cash.
We could always count on Matt Williams to send some foul balls into the bumper cars from the stadium. It was fun to work when Compton Terrace was there, we heard a lot of great acts and had a lot of fun throwing trespassers back over the fence. The worst gig in the park? Working those leaky paddleboats on that stinking lagoon. It would be 110 in the shade and the humidity was worse. But no matter what you worked, it was always a great time because of the people you worked with. Tayrn, Ivan, Billy, and the rest of the gang made it fun and they made sure we took care of the customers. I worked for Dave at CircusWorld in Haines City, FL, until it was bought out by HBJ. Michelle and I were married for five years. Anyone heard from Bob Nelson? Dave Williams AKA screaminremo303@aol.com Date: 02 Aug 2005 Time: 18:37:12
Comments: THIS IS GREAT!! I worked at LC ("We're the one's for fun!") from 1979 to the end, starting on the SkyDiver with Chuck the Mutant Carnie and finishing my stint as the soon-to-be son-in-law to Dave Ramage. I remember many hot, sweaty nights sitting around the lagoon at the Mexican Plaza as Taryn gave out the ride assignments. I really miss all the gang - especially all the guys who worked the logride. Are there any alumni that remember racing down to the Circle K to cash our paychecks after work, only to exchange them for beer before we headed out to the "Batcaves?" There are a pretty fair number of guys who went into law enforcement after LC, including Todd Baty (Mineride), Joe Gilligan (Logride/relief), and a couple of the guys who worked the coaster. I ended up working for Dave Ramage in Florida at the old CircusWorld in Haines City until it was bought out by HBJ and turned into Boardwalk&Baseball. I was married to his daughter, Michelle, for about 5 years. I still have a bunch of old belts, badges and t-shirts stuffed away in a box. Does anyone remember Admiral Bird? I heard the train concession at Freestone Park (Gilbert) is run by the Copell's. Dave Williams(screaminremo303@aol.com)
Date: 31 Jul 2005 Time: 02:56:21
Comments: I worked as a carney at legend city 81-82 while I was in high school, and was in the navy when it closed, it was a damm shame its gone...
Corey Collins Mesa, arizona Date: 26 Jul 2005 Time: 22:33:39
Comments: What a geat site. I lived in Phoenix, Az., from 1962 to 1970 and have great memories of going to Legend City with my brother and our parents. It's a shame a place like that has to be taken away from kids for the sake of real estate improvement, but money does talk.
But with sites like this the "Ole Legend City" will never really be gone!!! Thanks for the memories! Chuck Dicken Lewistown, Pa. Date: 20 Jul 2005 Time: 12:59:13
Comments: Hi I moved here in 1993 from a suburb of Chicago. We too had a couple of great places that went by the wayside. One went befor my time which was called Riverview, my parents remember it well, the other was called "Old Chiago". It was alot like the Mall of America in MN or like the Ammusement park at Circus Circus in Vegas. It was indoors and had a mall around the outter edge. it was great because you could go there evein in the dead of winter and ride the rides because it was all inside! I obviously did not get the opportunity to see your park, but it looks like it was a big hit. I love the southwest and mining, I would have loved your park I only wonder why it did not stick around. My girlfrind says she remembers it well, she has lived her since 1971. Anyway it is a great website. I wish we had an ammusment park in AZ it sucks to have to go to another state to have fun. Thanks for the site. minemanmike@yahoo.com
Mike Date: 21 Jun 2005 Time: 16:29:19
Comments: I spent many days there with my brother! It's nice to see a blast from the past!
Date: 19 Jun 2005 Time: 12:50:51
Comments: Great site, were in El Paso is the Train and who owns it? If you know please let me know. This site brings back very good times.
My e-mail is priklypearranch@cgmailbox.com Thanks, Steve Date: 16 Jun 2005 Time: 08:36:59
Comments: thank you for bringing me back to the time of . . . no cell phones - no pagers - no tattoos - no nose rings - just standin' on your tippy toes to meet the height requirement of your favorite ride(s) . . . awesome
Date: 10 May 2005 Time: 10:34:40
Comments: Alpha & Omega: the beginning and the end. I was at the opening of and the closing of Legend City.
8 years old in 1963 when the "Legend" opened and 29 in 1983 when the "Legend" closed. Legend City has now truly become a legend in the minds of those that remember it, the family times there, Wallace & Ladmo, returning as a young adults, and it's inevitable and sad closing. My consolation prize: I still dream about Legend City every once in a while. In these lucid dreams I soon realize that I am nothing more than an image replaying recorded moments. Yet I still walk the grounds with enthusiasm but followed by a shadow of sadness. Last night I dreamt of visiting "Wallace". I was surprised when he recognized my now adult form. In my dream he said he remembered generations of children that grew to love him and Ladmo. Realizing that Ladmo is gone I was crushed by a devasting sadness though. "THANK YOU FOR ARCHIVING THESE WONDERFUL MEMORIES! YOUR WORK IS APPRECIATED BY MORE PEOPLE THAN EITHER OF US COULD EVER IMAGINE!" Regards, Jerry Foisel jerryfoisel@yahoo.com Date: 06 May 2005 Time: 17:02:05
Comments: As the Park manager from 1976-78, I still have many fond memories and laughs about some of the stunts that drew the Phoenix valley crowds to our door.
What a fun place to work. Date: 28 Apr 2005 Time: 15:46:54
Comments: Great website. Met my husband on a blind date to Legend City July 1,1983--just before it closed. Great memories. Linda
Date: 20 Apr 2005 Time: 17:57:45
Comments: Thank you so much for making this site! It takes me back to a wonderful time. I miss it so much! I am sure there are many others with the same thoughts! We really needed it then, and need something like it in AZ now. Thanks!
Date: 05 Apr 2005 Time: 11:13:36
Comments: This note is for JPB Publishing: Hi John. It was great to see you last month. Wesen and I really enjoyed seeing everyone. This site is a lot of fun. I had just purchased a book of old photos of Detroit. The City had three theme parks, the last which closed around the same time as Legend City. They couldn't compete with the mega park (Cedar Point) along Lake Erie about an hour and half away in Ohio. It was fun seeing those old pictures.
Here is my one Legend City link. My sophmore roommate (Hugh) at U of A was Wallace's nephew. Uncle Wal-boy as he called him. Hugh grew up in St. Louis and all our friends from Phoenix were really impressed with his famous uncle! Now I know why. Best wishes, Bill Peterson
Add Your Comments |