Wonderland on Lake Street
Wonderland Amusement Park opened in 1905 and operated every summer until 1911. Visitors to Wonderland came on the street car from all over the cities to see tightrope walkers, acrobats, plays, a 120-foot illuminated tower and to try out the park’s Old Mill Boat Ride.
The only evidence other than old pictures and postcards that Wonderland ever existed is the Infantorium, which is now an apartment building on the southeast corner of 31st Avenue and 31st Street. The babies and equipment were advertised as a “scientific exhibit of the modern method of saving the prematurely born babies.” Fair-goers paid to see premature infants in shiny glass and chrome incubators. Ticket sales were used to pay staff salaries and the cost of supplies. Parents were not charged
When Wonderland closed in 1911. The owners blamed cold and rainy summers for slow ticket sales.
Another corner of Wonderland
Great post. More on the Infantorium:
http://www.neonatology.org/classics/wonderland2.html
http://www.friendsofthecemetery.org/history/alley_articles/wonderland_babies_july2004.shtml
Infantorium? Creepy!