Or the Pike, the Cyclone Racer, Rainbow Pier, The Plunge, Pacific Ocean Park, the Whistle Stop on 4th Street, or Marineland of the Pacific?
(Not my photo.) Marineland of the Pacific was a great tourist attraction; a destination theme park in Palos Verdes, built even before Disneyland. We went there from Long Beach as a family in the fifties. It was the world’s largest oceanarium; a grand project. It operated until the late eighties, but I had forgotten about it by then. They had two killer whales, Orky and Corky, that Sea World, who came along later, coveted. Sea World wanted to buy them but Marineland wouldn’t sell. In the eighties, when Marineland encountered some financial difficulty, Sea World stepped in with money, promising to preserve the park. The park was now an important part of the community and local economy. Within six weeks of the sale, Sea World had moved Orky and Corky to San Diego, renamed Corky “Shamu”, and closed the park forever. They got the whales they wanted by buying the whole park, throwing everything else away, and keeping the whales. Marineland sat abandoned for 20 years before being recently redeveloped as a golf-themed resort.
(Not my photo.) Marineland of the Pacific was a great tourist attraction; a destination theme park in Palos Verdes, built even before Disneyland. We went there from Long Beach as a family in the fifties. It was the world’s largest oceanarium; a grand project. It operated until the late eighties, but I had forgotten about it by then. They had two killer whales, Orky and Corky, that Sea World, who came along later, coveted. Sea World wanted to buy them but Marineland wouldn’t sell. In the eighties, when Marineland encountered some financial difficulty, Sea World stepped in with money, promising to preserve the park. The park was now an important part of the community and local economy. Within six weeks of the sale, Sea World had moved Orky and Corky to San Diego, renamed Corky “Shamu”, and closed the park forever. They got the whales they wanted by buying the whole park, throwing everything else away, and keeping the whales. Marineland sat abandoned for 20 years before being recently redeveloped as a golf-themed resort.