Cedar Point History - 1950's

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1950

First road to the Hotel Breakers main entrance opens.

Monday, 13 February 1950
The move to lease Cedar Point to a syndicate headed by Torrence C. Melrose is blocked by a last minute injunction. The order is an attempt by Boeckling trust fund beneficiaries to stop Harold Minnick from exercising the controlling vote in negotiations to lease the resort.
Wednesday, 22 February 1950
Judge vacates February 13 injunction that had blocked move to lease Cedar Point to a syndicate headed by Torrence C. Melrose.
Thursday, 23 February 1950
Cedar Point stockholders approve 10-year lease of the resort to Torrence C. Melrose
Saturday, 01 April 1950
Torrence C. Melrose takes active control of the Cedar Point resort following approval from G. A. Boeckling Company directors and formal signing of a 10-year lease. D. M. Schneider will direct overall operations.
Friday, 16 June 1950
Cedar Point opens for 81st season.
Thursday, 07 September 1950
Erie County Fall Festival beings at Cedar Point.
1951

Final season for the Cyclone

Kiddie Merry-Go-Round is moved to the head of the midway.

Lower floor of the Coliseum is remodeled to provide a beer garden at one end.

Hotel Breakers adds a new refreshment stand on the hotel porch and the lobby soda fountain is equipped to serve meals.

Cedar Point contracts with Greyhound Bus Lines for stops at the resort on its national highway tours.

Thursday, 22 March 1951
Dan M. Schneider announces he has acquired the interest of Torrance C. Melrose in the Cedar Point resort.
Friday, 15 June 1951
Cedar Point opens for its 82nd season
Friday, 15 June 1951
New kiddy rides open, including Sky Fighter, Whip, Kiddie Hand Car, and Fire Truck.
Friday, 15 June 1951
Glass House opens
Friday, 15 June 1951
Monkey Race Track opens
Friday, 15 June 1951
Renne Zouray opens new indoor bicycle ride, replacing his walk-thru show.
Friday, 15 June 1951
Polka king Frank Yankovic opens the main ballroom concert season.
Monday, 03 September 1951
Final run for the steamer G.A. Boeckling.
Saturday, 14 June 1952
New Ferris wheel opens
Saturday, 14 June 1952
Cedar Point opens for 83rd season.
Saturday, 14 June 1952
Little Dipper opens
Saturday, 14 June 1952
Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not exhibit opens
Saturday, 14 June 1952
Fascination opens
Monday, 30 March 1953
The Cedar Point Bridge Co., a subsidiary of the G. A. Boeckling Co., announces plans to build a causeway from the city of Sandusky to Cedar Point. The causeway is intended to be the first step in developing the end of the peninsula as a site for residential development.
Monday, 06 April 1953
Speaking to a group of Sanduskians, G. A. Boeckling Co. president B. G. Zeiher says 800 residential lots are to be laid out in the area of the Cedar Point lagoons.
Monday, 18 May 1953
The Ohio House of Representatives passes legislation by a 113-0 vote to grant permission to the Cedar Point Bridge Co. to build causeway.
Saturday, 30 May 1953
Cedar Point opens for 84th season
Wednesday, 03 June 1953
The Ohio Senate passes legislation by a 30-0 vote to grant permission to the Cedar Point Bridge Co. to build causeway.
Monday, 22 June 1953
Citing a potential for the state of Ohio to eventually reacquire the one mile easement at great cost, Ohio Governor Frank Lausche vetoes bill granting permission to the Cedar Point Bridge Co. to build causeway
Tuesday, 23 June 1953
By a vote of 91-18, the Ohio House of Representatives overrides Governor Frank Lausche's veto of bill granting permission to Cedar Point Bridge Co. to build causeway.
Wednesday, 24 June 1953
By a vote of 23-7, the Ohio Senate overrides Governor Frank Lausche's veto of bill granting permission to Cedar Point Bridge Co. to build causeway.
1954

Sandusky obstetrician Dr. Dean Sheldon purchases land surrounding the first Cedar Point road that closed in 1920 and establishes a sanctuary for migratory birds.

Cedar Point starts aquatic sports program that includes racing (boat, water ski, and swimming) and fishing contests.

Friday, 26 March 1954
The Cedar Point Bridge Co. formally applies to the Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to construct causeway.
Saturday, 29 May 1954
Cedar Point opens for its 85th season
Saturday, 29 May 1954
New Kiddieland opens
Saturday, 29 May 1954
New Fun House opens
Saturday, 29 May 1954
Eden Musee museum returns
Saturday, 29 May 1954
New Ripley Believe-it-or-Not collection debuts
Monday, 06 September 1954
Final day of operation for the 1954 season
1955

Ride operator Joe Snati introduces U-Drive-Em cruisers, powered boats operating on the Cedar Point lagoons.

Saturday, 28 May 1955
Cedar Point opens for 86th season.
Sunday, 29 May 1955
Eugene and Albert Berardi open Roll-O-Plane
Sunday, 29 May 1955
Western Express, a sightseeing train, opens
Monday, 15 August 1955
G. A. Boeckling Company conveys to Sandusky Development Company two parcels of land on the Cedar Point Peninsula which would become Cedar Cove. The residential area remains today near the 1600 block of Cedar Point Road.
Monday, 05 September 1955
Final operating day of 1955 season.
Thursday, 26 April 1956
Cedar Point Bridge Co. files breach of contract lawsuit against L. A. Wells Construction Co. alleging faulty construction of the new causeway and work stoppage by L. A. Wells. The petition states work on the causeway was to be completed by January 22, 1955.
Wednesday, 02 May 1956
Some 2,000 shares of stock of G. A. Boeckling Co. is sold to group headed by George Roose for reported $1.5 million. The group will seek approval from Erie County Pleas Court to buy 6,260 shares of controlling stock from a trust that was established by George A. Boeckling.
Thursday, 03 May 1956
Harry Marshall of Cleveland, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Attorney General, politically bemoaned the sale of Cedar Point and said he would use the influence of the office to work toward purchase of Cedar Point by the state of Ohio.
Tuesday, 29 May 1956
Ohio Governor Frank Lausche announces that the state of Ohio is investigating the possibility of acquiring Cedar Point as a public recreational area.
Friday, 08 June 1956
Governor Frank Lausche asks state leaders to give "immediate and serious study" to the possible purchase of Cedar Point by the state of Ohio. The governor stated that unless the parcel can be acquired at a reasonable price, "condemnation proceedings ought to be instituted for its acquisition." Ohio Natural Resources Director A. W. Marion said the state would not be interested in keeping Hotel Breakers or the amusement park.
Saturday, 09 June 1956
Cedar Point opens for 87th season.
Wednesday, 20 June 1956
Ohio House Speaker Roger Cloud announces a special legislative committee will inspect Cedar Point to determine whether it should purchased for the site of a new park.
Thursday, 28 June 1956
Governor Frank Lausche leaves Cedar Point purchase off the agenda of a special session of the Ohio legislature, with prevailing sentiment in the legislature that the purchase could await more complete consideration for the regular session meeting in January.
Friday, 29 June 1956
The purchase of Cedar Point by the state is hotly debated on the floor of Ohio Senate. During debate, Republican Sen. C. Stanley Meechem said, "When the governor sent us a message which is impossible to understand and full of double talk and double meaning, I don't like it."
Wednesday, 15 August 1956
Erie County Chamber of Commerce goes on record opposing purchase of Cedar Point by the state of Ohio.
Wednesday, 22 August 1956
The Ohio Legislative Service Commission postpones any recommendations on a proposal to purchase Cedar Point until a pending Erie County court case surrounding the purchase of controlling interest of the G. A. Boeckling Co. is settled.
Thursday, 14 February 1957
Legislative study committee recommends the state give up plans to purchase Cedar Point unless there is danger the resort might be lost to public use.
Thursday, 14 February 1957
The management of the G. A. Beockling Co. gives assurance that Cedar Point will continue in operation.
Thursday, 30 May 1957
Cedar Point opens for 88th season.
Saturday, 15 June 1957
Cedar Point Causeway opens
Monday, 02 September 1957
Final operating day of 1957 season.
1958

Cadillac Cars opens.

New parking lot opens near Coral Dining Room as a convenience for guests. With the opening of the Cedar Point Causeway the previous summer, the resort saw an increase in Sandusky workers and others taking advantage of the shorter drive to enjoy lunch at Cedar Point.

Friday, 30 May 1958
Cedar Point opens for 89th season.
Friday, 11 July 1958
V. W. Flicking, head of the state of Ohio parks division, feels the state has already missed its window of opportunity to purchase Cedar Point for use as a state park, telling the Sandusky Register, "Our money would be better spent on what we already have. This should have been acquired 20 years ago."
Monday, 01 September 1958
Final day for 1958 operating season
Thursday, 02 October 1958
George Roose, president of the G. A. Boeckling Co., assured the public that Cedar Point would continue as a resort. Roose indicated many improvements were under consideration for the coming years, including new front and rear entrances at Hotel Breakers. A company official said the use of the 200-acre lagoon area for a housing development was perhaps a year away.
1959

Attendance for the 1959 season is 875,000.

New concrete bathhouse opens. The new bathhouse can accommodate 2,400 guests.

For the first time, the beach, amusement park, and picnic areas will be open to the public every day from Memorial Day through Labor Day. In previous years the amusement park was open only on weekends.

Wild Mouse opens between Noah's Ark and the merry-go-round.

Turnpike Cars opens.

Monorail opens

Final season for Noah's Ark

Final season for Animal House.

Final season for Caterpillar.

Old lakefront garages formerly used by guests at Hotel Breakers are removed in order to provide better parking.

Thursday, 01 January 1959
G. A. Boeckling Co. purchases D. M. Schneider's Cedar Point Inc., the resort's lessee. D. M. Schneider acquired the lease from Torrence Melrose, who originally signed a 10-year lease in 1950.
Friday, 01 May 1959
Cedar Point Marina opens.
Saturday, 30 May 1959
Cedar Point opens for 90th season.
Saturday, 20 June 1959
Hotel Breakers opens for 1959 season.