"Boardwalk Fun Facts" Boardwalk Memories

The Wild Mouse rattled Boardwalk guests over 40 years ago…and we’re STILL hearing crazy stories about it from guests!

Can you believe a dentist invented Cotton Candy? It used to be called Fairy Floss back in the day. Here’s Boardwalk’s trapeze stars Freddy Quadros and Shirley Wightman in the

We believe this old postcard showing the Boardwalk in the background may be from around 1920.

Look familiar? This delicious replica of the Boardwalk’s Cocoanut Grove was made entirely out of APPLES for the Santa Cruz County Fair in 1911.

The Lou Williams Santa Cruz Beach Band looked pretty serious up on our Beach Bandstand in 1912.

If you ever rode the Boardwalk’s Wild Mouse, you’re probably *still* talking about it! The Wild Mouse opened in 1958 and closed in 1976.

This 1985 photo shows the Great Auto Race (1985-1999) plus Logger’s Revenge (1977) and Sea Dragons (1976) both still going strong!

The entrance to the Santa Cruz Wharf sure looked different in 1952. The restaurant on the left looks similar, but it’s now called Ideal Bar & Grill. Cool cars and

A fun shot of the Casino Arcade. Visitors could go into a small sound booth and record themselves singing, then walk away with their own record. This is either 1959

This fun old photo shows an Easter Egg Hunt on the beach in the 1980s. Prizes were buried in the sand. The event became a little TOO popular and was

This 1961 photo shows construction of the original Cave Train station with Dangerous Dan (aka) Dino the Dinosaur being installed in the pond.

This vintage photo shows the east end of the park looking towards the river.

This vintage photo is probably from the late 1930s or early ’40s. Check out the old Pleasure Pier and bandstand in front of the Boardwalk, the streamliner train that ran

Our Giant Dipper opened on May 17, 1924. Here’s to the guys who built our favorite ride in just 47 days!

During World War II, the Boardwalk’s Pleasure Pier was renamed the United Nations Pier when 30 U.N. Flags were displayed for a 1943 Memorial Day program.

Legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain, aka the “Big Dipper” took a ride on our Giant Dipper in 1963. The 7’1″ Warrior was NBA MVP 4 times in his career.