Seabreeze Amusement Park

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Seabreeze Amusement Park
July 2006
Location	Irondequoit, New York, United States
Address	4600 Culver Road Rochester, New York 14622
Website	www.seabreeze.com
Owner	Norris family
Opened	August 5, 1879
Previous names	Dreamland
Operating season	May - September
Rides	70 total 4 roller coasters 8 water rides
Slogan	"More Smiles per hour!"

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Seabreeze Amusement Park, known locally as Seabreeze, is an historic amusement park in Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, New York, United States.

Seabreeze is in northeast Irondequoit, where Irondequoit Bay empties into Lake Ontario. It opened on 5 August 1879, and, according to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), it is the twelfth-oldest operating amusement park in the world (fourth-oldest in the United States). Its most celebrated ride is the Jack Rabbit, an "out and back" roller coaster, and the fourth-oldest operating roller coaster in the world (opened 1920). It is owned and operated by the Norris family, many of whom lived on the property for years.

[edit] History

Like many historic amusement parks, Seabreeze did not begin with rides or attractions but as a trolley park that provided a park and picnic grounds at the end of the trolley line. With Seabreeze's prime location and with its scenic views of Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario, rides were added beginning in 1900.

Its popularity was such that during the early part of the twentieth century, it was often referred to as the "Coney Island of the West." The park was known as Dreamland for approximately thirty years during the post-World War II era.

[edit] Rides and Attractions

Early rides included its centerpiece carousel added in 1915. (The carousel was almost completely destroyed by fire on March 31, 1994; a new carousel of hand-made parts, potentially one of the last to be made in this way, was commissioned to replace it, using four horses that survived the fire.) Four roller coasters were added in the 1920s, including a ride called the Virginia Reel, and the "world's largest salt water swimming pool." (Official Seabreeze website - History.)

Today, in addition to the carousel and the Jack Rabbit, the park includes a spinning coaster called "The Whirlwind," the "Raging Rivers" water park, and several other modern and classic amusement rides. (Official Seabreeze website.)