Deadly Fun, Part 2: Pennsylvania Amusement Park Fatalities
One of the few surviving pictures of National Amusement Park in Blawnox, showing the mill chute ride. Last week we explored some forgotten tragedies at Pennsylvania amusement parks. This week, we look at ten more amusement parks where a day of fun turned into an unforgettable horror, including one amusement park which experienced five fatalities in just sixty-five years, and a Philadelphia park that was the scene of a cold-blooded murder. National Amusement Park (Allegheny County) Located in the steel town of Blawnox, the National Amusement Park (originally known as Harmarville Park) was opened in 1926 and featured the standard assortment of rides and attractions for the era. The park, operated by the Harmarville Amusement Company, had an impressive dance pavilion, a dog racing track, bowling alley, a large Ferris wheel, an mill chute ride, a scrambler, bumper cars and a roller coaster named the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt, designed by John A. Miller, "The Father of the Modern Ro...
