One Abandoned Theme Park Relic Lives on in Downtown Spokane

Dec 03, 2023

Spokane has quite a few places where tourists can cool off in a splash park, play laser tag, ride go-karts, play mini-golf, bowl, try their hand at arcade games, and even ride the last remaining relic of a forgotten, abandoned theme park from the 1800s. Many visitors in Spokane have been to one popular tourist attraction in particular, not realizing they have interacted with a spooky bit of history.

Enter Natatorium Theme Park, stage right.

This theme park was once home to a rollercoaster, water splash rides, picnic chairs, a dance hall, a trolley park, walking trails, a shooting gallery, bowling alley, a ferris wheel, a huge public pool, and a city league baseball team. It also had a carousel. In its heyday, it was called Spokane's "Coney Island".

The carousel that was once part of the Natatorium Park is all that remains. The amusement park was abandoned by the owner when he skipped town after not paying the mortgage for the park. Fast forward to the park becoming the property of a wealthy man named Looff. The Great Depression kickstarted the fall of this huge popular amusement park. Sadly, the trolleys were burned to the ground when the new wave of transportation (cars) came to town. Natatorium Park was later sold off and then abandoned.

The carousel is now housed in Riverfront Park, where thousands of visitors hop on board one of the Looff Carousel figurines (pronounced as "LOOF") or rent the space out for weddings. The carousel is named after the carver of the figurines who bestowed it as a wedding present to his daughter and son-in-law. (The son-in-law lived in Spokane.) You can read more about the last remaining relic of Spokane's abandoned historical park here and watch an hour-long PBS special about it here.

♬ original sound - Prism Lens FX

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