The defi nitive history of
Freedomland revealed in detail
BY KYLE VUILLE
The long forgotten past of pre-Coop
City/Bay Plaza history comes to life
with the release of ‘Freedomland USA
The Defi nitive History’ by Michael R.
Virgintino.
Freedomland was once a thriving
All-American amusement park built
on an undeveloped marshland along
I-95, just northwest of the Hutchinson
River Parkway.
Virgintino presented a brief overview
of his book and opened up a discussion
with the Forum of Italian
American Educators (FIAME) at the
Morris Park Community Center, 1824
Bronxdale Avenue last Thursday.
Virgintino’s interest in Freedomland
was sparked by his cherished
memories of attending the USA-themed
park as a young boy in the 1960s.
While growing up on Mickle Avenue,
a short distance from Freedomland,he
attended Holy Rosary Catholic School
as well as Cardinal Spellman High
School. He then moved on to study
journalism at Fordham University in
the 1970s.
He said his early infl uences in jour-
nalism were the great Walter Cronkite
as well as Charles Osgood, who he had
met several times during his time at
Fordham and initially piqued his interest
in radio journalism.
Throughout his years as a journalist,
Virgintino found himself writing
articles from time to time about the
history of Freedomland.
“I’d always look at historical aspects
of different things and people
and where it fi t into the timeline of
businesses, and time and time again,
things always traced back to Freedomland,”
Virgintino said.
After a friend asked him to write
the introduction on Freedomland in a
chronicle covering all the early American
amusement parks, a publisher
at Theme Park Press asked if Virgintino
had interest in writing a book on
Freedomland himself.
Virgintino stepped up to the call.
Even though he already possessed
extensive knowledge of the park, the
journalist inside of him yearned to
learn even more about the amusement
park of his childhood.
He said around the beginning of Facebook’s
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Author of “Freedomland U.S.A. The Defi nitive History” Michael Virgintino signs a copy of his
book at the Morris Park Community Center before he gave his presentation to the Forum
of Italian American Educators last Thursday December 12. Virgintino’s book chronicles the
complete history of Freedomland and the many stories behind the “Disneyland of the East.”
Photo by Kyle Vuille/Schneps Media
popularity, he created a page
dedicated to the lost American theme
park.
“I started seeing different memory
pages on Facebook, but realized there
wasn’t one for Freedomland,” Virgintino
said, “And I didn’t want just the
memories, I wanted more on the attractions,
the character actors, the
events and how it all started.”
Using dedicated Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram accounts, he amassed
more and more stories from former
employeess and families of former employees
coming out of the woodwork.
Virgintino said he spent the following
eight years reaching out to anyone
who was involved in the creation, development
and production of the park
to hear their stories.
Most importantly, he wanted to
answer the question that remained
in the minds of many baby boomers:
“Where’d it go, Why did they develop
those apartments over my beloved
Freedomland?’
“I turned over every stone to fi nd
out everything I could,” Virgintino
said.
Incorporating all his prior knowledge
on the history of the park and the
many personal anecdotes make for a
multi-faceted book gorged with information.
The book, ‘Freedomland U.S.A. The
Defi nitive History’ has 30 chapters
that chronicle C.V. Wood’s (creator of
the park and Disneyland) conception
of the park to its inevitable bankruptcy
and the mysteries behind its demise.
The book chronicles the park’s
many attractions such as the Wild,
Wild West, the Chicago Fire and Old
New York, as well as its generous helpings
of celebrity appearances during
its fi ve-year history, from 1960 to 1964.
As for Virgintino, he had found the
greatest pleasure in keeping Freedomland
in the spotlight for future generations
to come.
“I’m pleased (Freedomland) is being
remembered, and being put back
in its proper place,” Virgintino said.
“It was something never seen before
and it will never be seen again.”
The book is available on Amazon
(http://amzn.com/1683901770) at
the suggested retail price of $24.95. It
also can be located on eBay and Goodreads.
/1683901770
/1683901770)