Grand Pavilion

Miss_Maverick07 said:
Is the brick building in the midway by ocean motion with the tall pillars the old grand pavilion? I know that's in front of the coral dining room, kinda, but I was just wondering.

You are correct. The Coral Dining room is in the lower level, while the convention center is upstairs. That brick is just a veneer. The actual building is wood construction. You can get a good view between ocean motion and the building. You can also see it clearly in the eating area just outside the gate. All of the porches that surround the building have been covered. The building has been hacked beyond belief. There are a lot of things that could be changed to preserve. But after seeing what has happened in the past I cannot see CP restoring anything when it is actually cheaper to just tear down and build new. (IE; breakers wings).It is too bad really, but it is a business, not a historical commission.

Some businesses embrace their history even if it doesn't necessesarily add to the bottom line in any significant way. The history of the park gives it its character. I don't find it all that coincidental at all that as that history is chipped away people feel less and less attached to the park, or that they are more critical of the park now than in the past. Certainly there are other issues that contribute to the growing criticizm of the park that are more significant.

Isn't some of the buildings on the point protected on the historic register?

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Yes there are. The Coliseum and the three carrousels are listed on the national site while the Breakers are on the state site and listed there on the national register. (I still wonder if the recent renovations hurt the hotels standing as a historic building). Anyway the point is that I'm sure there are historic tax credits to be had should the park want to refurbish the parks historical structures. They either are ignorant of the possibilities or choose not to. I for one would like nothing more than to have both the pavilion and the coliseum restored to somehting closer to their original condition. Certainly there could be a way to build a small elevator into the coliseum that is both functional and non-discript enough to blend in. It wouldn't have to be any larger than something to lift a few people.

But for lack of having a better closing to this post, i'll reiterate. There are plenty of ways the park could restore these buildings with funny money that is offered by various government agencies. And if they're willing to spend a little extra it could look fantastic.

While it would be nice if there was more of CP's history left in the park, there remains more than most people realize. The Grand Pavillion is mostly intact, though drastically modified. I would love to be the brick and columns removed and it restored to it's original look. The Coliseum is very much as it was. The Pagoda gift shop goes back a hundred years and hasn't changed much. Across the way the old Castle rock building is still there, though modifed. The front portion of the Centennial Theatre goes back to 1871 or so. Many of the sculptures in the area of the Dodgems go back to the days when CP was a picnic grove. Of course the center section of the Breakers is over 100 years old. Plus, they have Town Hall Museum. I'd like to see more displays in there. As mentioned before, the old time pharmacy isn't relavant and could be removed in my opinion.

Just out of curiosity, where is the Castle Rock building? What is it used for today?

I too would love to see Cedar Point embrace more of it's history. Most of the parks that are as old as CP are now closed.

Interisting bit of info (rumor). I did hear once that Walt Disney got his idea for the Magic Kingdom ferries from the G. A. Boeckling.

Who knows?

It is the white block building between the Hat Rack Gift Shop and Macaroni's across form where the Peanuts Playground baseball diamond was. I think there may be offices in there.

I knew it as the building that had Investor Relations and Accounting/Finance offices. I don't know if that has changed or not.

The Breakers lost its "historic register" status with the addition of the Tower, if I'm not mistaken. But, come to think of it, they might have lost it when Breakers East was built. Either way, there were too many modifications to suit those who make those types of decisions.

That's the administration building right? I just found this after a quick google search....

The Crystal Rock Castle opened mid-way between the beach and the pier and sold beer and wine to guests. The building's exterior had the look of a stone castle. the structure itself remained on the peninsula until the early 1960's, when it was intentionally burned.

Yes, the current Finance building was the original Administration building from the Boeckling era. The Crystal Rock Castle was burned during the Roose and Legrose era, if memory serves correctly.