Below here, for reference, is some additional information about Old Orchard Beach in Maine:
Old Orchard Beach, Maine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Town Nickname: ''Garden by the Sea'', after Thomas Rogers' town
Country: United States
State: Maine
County: York
Settled: 1653
Incorporated: February 20, 1883
Old Orchard Beach is a town and census designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,624 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland - South Portland - Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the inner side of Saco Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is a popular summer beach destination. The downtown contains many tourist oriented businesses, including clam shacks and t-shirt shops. A wooden pier on the beach contains many other tourist businesses, including a variety of souvenir shops. The seven mile long beach stretching away from the downtown is lined with many beach residential properties, condominiums, motels and bed and breakfasts.
Early history
The Old Orchard Beach area began appearing in historical records around the time of 1653. The area was first officially settled in 1657 by Thomas Rogers, who dubbed it ''The Garden By The Sea''. The town takes its name from Rogers' abandoned apple orchard. Rogers' family left the area and relocated in Kittery, Maine after an Indian attack destroyed the Rogers' homestead. The namesake orchard survived for approximately 150 years as a beacon of land to sailors in the Atlantic Ocean. The historic Free Will Baptist revival camp at Ocean Park, Maine, just down the beach from central Old Orchard, was built in 1881 by Bates College President Oren B. Cheney. The mission of the Association, as declared to the State of Maine on January 24, 1881 was ''to establish a place of summer resort for holding religious, educational and other meetings at Old Orchard, in Saco, Maine, in the County of York''. The community still thrives today. Also Old Orchard Beach is the largest natural sand beach in Maine, there have been rumors that stated a millionaire trucked all of the sand in on his dime for the enjoyment of generations to come.
Tourist resort
Old Orchard Beach has been promoted as a tourist destination since 1631, when its first settler established a ''Garden By the Sea''. In 1829 the first Public House opened, and in 1837 tourists paid $1.50 each to stay at a local farm. Railroad service between Boston and Portland opened in 1842. Over the years Old Orchard developed into a major resort. Airplanes took off from the beach and auto races were held on the sand. Most of the large hotels were destroyed in the fire of 1907. The oldest hotel still standing on the beachfront in Old Orchard at this time, is The Ocean House Hotel & Motel, circa 1895, located at 71 West Grand Avenue. It retains its original parlors and character.
Attractions
The seaside amusement park Palace Playland is located in Old Orchard Beach. The amusement park dates back to 1902 and sits on four acres of beachfront property. Palace Playland is one of the last old timey oceanside amusement parks in New England. In the past, two carousels were constructed with hand carved horses and other animals. Old Orchard Beach was home to the first carousel in the United States Noah's Ark, a kid friendly, boat shaped funhouse with hand carved figures of Noah and his family, was designed to provide an exciting but not frightening experience for a 5 year-old. The entire structure would rock back and forth while guests meandered through dark passages. Colored lights would flash, loud klaxons would sound, and compressed air would shoot from the floor. On the Jack and Jill slide, two people would be placed on a large hemp mat in a wooden bucket, which would take them to the top of a 50 foot tall tower and dump them onto a metal slide for a quick ride down. The current 2011 version of Palace Playland consists of a newly built Ferris Wheel, a 24,000 square foot arcade, and 25 rides for both children and adults. The new Ferris Wheel replaces the 70 foot high, decades old Sunwheel with one that is environmentally sound and technologically superior.
Pier at Old Orchard Beach
Three versions of the Pier were constructed by man and modified by nature. The first, 1,770 feet long, was built of steel in 1898. At its end was the Pier Casino, a ballroom with room for 5,000 dancers. Shortly after its completion a storm reduced its length by 150 feet. It was rebuilt, but 10 years later, after another storm, the pier was shortened to 700 feet and the Casino was moved. In the interwar period, the Casino hosted such acts as Guy Lombardo, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Xavier Cugat, and Frank Sinatra. After the war Old Orchard became somewhat downscale, becoming known as a destination for blue collar partygoers. A fire in 1969 destroyed Noah's Ark, the two carousels, and the Jack and Jill slide. The Casino was demolished in 1970. The current incarnation of the pier was built in 1980 after being destroyed by a blizzard in 1978. The current structure stretches 500 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. The wooden walk way is lined with souvenir shops, fair style foods, and a night club at the end of the pier.
