Who remembers Paragon Park at Nantasket Beach?

[Hull-onian]

Have any of you Intercotee's ever been to Paragon Park as a kid? I sure miss it. I remember the day they took down the old wooden roller coaster. She was a thing of beauty. An amusement park in Maryland bought it and put it back up again and is in use today. The carousel is still in use at the clock tower building. That is the only real remaining relic of a by- gone era. It was built by the Pennsylvania Toboggan Company. My Dad used to take me to Al's Spaghetti House on the strip. Of course, we'd go to Howard Johnson's for ice cream. It was the best. I would sure like to hear back from anyone who went there when they were a child.

[Jeri Lynn]

ME, ME, ME!!!!!

When I was a kid we used to go down to Nantasket Beach and stay with a family who had a house down there. I remember going to Paragon Park and it was a couple years before I was big enough to go on the rollercoaster, and it was the first rollercoaster I ever went on. I remember waiting in line for my first big thrill.

I used to wake up in the morning and walk to the beach which was only a couple streets away and collect shells in the morning.

Thanks for the subject, it brought back some really nice memories!!!

[ May 29, 2005, 06:54 AM: Message edited by: Jeri Lynn ]

[ChipDale]

I am going to pop this over to Beyond Disney: Info, News & Trip Reports for you -->

[MNNHFLTX]

My mother-in-law grew up in Hull, so she and my father-in-law would take my husband and his brother back to Paragon Park when they were kids. DH has vivid memories of the carousel and roller coaster, even though he was quite young. After we got married we went out to Nantasket Beach and saw the carousel in the clock tower.

We have one wall of our game room that has memorabilia of our childhood haunts and hangouts, and from Paragon Park we managed to find a vintage T-Shirt and toy tamborine.

[faline]

I remember going once or twice when I was a kid.

[SodaPopMGK]

We used to make an annual trip to Paragon Park. It was always the highlight of our summer. The old wooden roller coaster with peeling paint would shake whenever you rode it. They don't make roller coasters like that today. They also had a great ride called the Galaxy, which is no longer in service anywhere. Great memories. Hopefully going to WDW will create lasting memories for my kids. I know it is for me.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I can remember going there when I was about 15 with a friend in her father's convertible. We thought we were something else.

[DisneyLiz]

I grew up the next town over from Paragon (and now live a few blocks away from the old location). I hated that roller coaster (I think that is the coaster that turned me off of coasters completely). I turned on the local cable access station last year and they were playing a tape of the auction of the park's rides and games. It was so sad but funny to see the "fashions" of the time... certainly a trip back.

[AmyKane]

I just stumbled upon this thread!
I lived in Hull most of my life and grew up with the park just down the street. I remember as a child waking up some nights to the sounds of the coaster and the screams of the people who rode it. As a teenager like most kids hung out down there and played in the arcades. In addition to the roller coaster (The Comet) and Galaxy; what about the Conga cruise??
I have some great memories! [img]smile.gif[/img]
I worked at Paragon Park for a couple of years while in college just as it closed. There are days, especially now, where I wish we still had the park and the old strip. I miss the saltwater taffy...

[LorrieP]

Oh my!! My aunt and uncle used to live in Rockland, MA and we went the Nantasket one summer!! I barely remember it. It had to have been 30-35 years ago!!

[nancysparkle]

I grew up in Scituate, and Paragon Park was a part of summer life in the 60's. I remember going with girlfriends when I was 13. One's parent would drop us off, and someone else's would pick us up (the world felt safer then). Then I went there on dates.
Never mind the roller coaster, I remember the Wild Mouse and the Tunnel of Love! And fried clams at that place out at the front. And playing skee-ball in the arcade. God, it was fun!

[Hull-onian]

Thanks everyone for keeping this thread going. It has been fun reading about everyones adventures at Paragon Park. We still miss it today. We have vintage photo's at our house and a great aerial print by William F. Johnston in our T.V. room. Our photos are framed and on the wall in our computer room. Ahhh, to long for the good old days. I sure do miss Howard Johnson's and their good ice cream.

[JPL]

I remember visiting it as a kid I have relative from Mass. and went as part of sightseeing tour. I remember the coaster but not much else because I was young and we really didn't stay my brother was ill and we only stayed about 3 hours.

[ June 28, 2005, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: JPL ]

[bibbidibobbidisue]

My older brother said Nantasket Beach and Paragon Park was the place to be on a summer night back in the '60s when he was a teenager. We lived in Pembroke then. I loved King's Castle Land, too! I think that was in Whitman, if I'm not mistaken?

It has been many years since I've lived in Massachusetts, but I still miss the South Shore!

[Joey DoWop Dee]

Oh, boy, what a thread to stumble onto! We used to have a summer place on Green (Atlantic?) Hill; I spent every summer of my life up until about 25 there. We used to go to the edge of the hill and watch as the lights went out at Paragon Park at the end of the day, to the tune of "From the First Hello to the Last Goodbye."

Memories: Hurley's Bathhouse (at the foot of the hill where we lived); The Ledges ("hotel" and refreshment stand where I worked for many years); Jackie Somebody-or-Other (a townie), a kid who was a bit eccentric, but fun to know; as for Paragon Park, we went there every evening after dinner (after stopping at Hoppy's, also at the foot of that hill, to get some of his great fried clams; yeah, we just had dinner but so what?); at Paragon, I excelled -- no kidding -- as a Cotton Candy Man, across from where the boats from the Red Mill emerged from the tunnel before going up and over the hill, and where my cousin worked on the back brake; also there was George, a kind of rat-like being but a nice guy who would guess your weight; The Flying Scooter!; Miniature Golf (I remember playing one day in a thunder storm when a bolt of lightning hit a pole right near me. Scared the YOUKNOWWHAT outta me.

Joseph's taffy; Howard Johnson's back near home; Joe and Nemo's (really going back now) and Martin's 5 and 10 on the strip, with the BEST (read: worst) collection of tourist junk you could ever imagine. I spent my week's pay from Paragon there!

Whew. I need to slow down and digest all of this.

My extended family lived on the hill: Pontuso, DiDomenico, Giardino, St. Martin, Caldarone, Costello, Mascia, La Marca, Bonanno, who am I missing? Ah. Thanks.

[Aero]

Hey, wow! When I was a kid, we used to put on Muscular Dystrophy carnivals every summer -- make up some carny games, sell tickets and food, and raise money for Jerry's kids. And as a reward, we'd get tickets to Paragon. Well worth the effort! Thanks for the memories!

- Aero

[Hull-onian]

To Joey Doo Wop, Wow you do have a lot of good memories of Paragon Park and Nantasket Beach. Sadly, Jackie passed away about three years ago. We all miss him. He was a fun guy and great to talk to. He new more about music than anyone I ever met. You left out Anastos's Corner where you could get a good breakfast and Chris would cook it for you. Chris is still there. Anastos's Corner is an old institution. I do miss Howard Johnsons and the roller skating rink. Those were the days. Thanks for a great post and welcom to Intercot.

[Joey DoWop Dee]

I'm sorry to hear about Jackie passing away. (Not that I've seen him in the past 30 years!)

I do remember Anastos corner; Pete Anastos hung out with us from time to time. The Apollo Theater was there, wasn't it?

Also, I just remembered there was a little amusement park called The Depot near where the HoJo's was. It had a train ride that circled the the little park. I was always on that except for when I was on my other favorite ride: The Duck Boats! For a thin dime (although not so thin to a six-year-old) you could climb a ladder from the sand of the beach out into the Atlantic for about 20 minutes. Sheer joy!

[Steve Childers]

I grew up in South Weymouth and visited paragon park many times.
I loved the beach,arcade,bumper cars and roller coaster.It was some of the greatest times in my life.
Was always a treat to go to Nantasket beach,
it was a great place to visit and grow up.
It is sad that todays generation will never know the thrills and just plain fun of Paragon Park.
If there were only a time machine.
Nice to know that the carousel survived,I rode that many times as well.
The 50s and 60s were a great time to grow up.
Thanks for the memories.

[paragon]

Sorry to bring back such an old thread, but I ran across it only today.