By Colin McCandless
Contributing Writer

HULL – For 80 years, Paragon Park on Nantasket Beach in Hull entertained throngs of visitors. Today there are only a few hints remaining of its former grandeur.

Opened on June 10, 1905, and inspired by the Colombian Exposition of 1893 and Dreamland at Coney Island, entrepreneur George A. Dodge invested $500,000 to create what was billed as a “miniature world’s fair” that featured a lagoon with Italian gondoliers, a Japanese tea garden, the Egyptian “Streets of Cairo” and other cultural exhibits. 

Other attractions included a 110-foot tower adorned with 20,000 electric lights (a novelty at the time since most homes lacked electricity) as well as shooting galleries, a 2,000-person capacity German beer hall, acrobats, circus acts, high divers and wild animals that performed daily on center stage, according to the nonprofit Friends of the Paragon Carousel. 

Despite the initial hype, the park lagged financially in its first two years. But Dodge believed in the venture and bet on its future. He bought out the other investors, changed exhibits annually and regularly added new rides and amusements. Fires in 1911 and again a few years later damaged large sections of the more than two-acre Paragon Park but the ravaged buildings and attractions were rebuilt and replaced.  

The year 1917 marked a milestone in the park’s history as Dodge contracted with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company to build the Giant Coaster, which at 98 feet high was the tallest and longest roller coaster in the world at the time. Intrepid riders experienced a vertical drop of 88 feet and hurtled down at 53 mph. 

In 1920, Dodge leased the park to former concessionaires Albert Golden and David Stone to manage the entire operation. They added new attractions and shows every year, including adventurous rides like the Congo Cruise, Kooky Kastle and the Caterpillar.

In his summary the “Paragon Park Story,” Hull Historical Society member Chris Haraden, who is writing a book on the history of Paragon Park, cites a contemporary quote from The Boston Globe enthusing, “Nothing like Paragon Park has ever before been seen near than Luna Park (Coney Island) at New York.”  

Growing up, Haraden lived next door to his grandfather Frank Infusino in Hull about 100 yards from Paragon’s back gate. Infusino worked at Paragon for decades as one of the tech specialists who maintained the roller coaster. “He and another group of guys would walk the track every morning and run a test train before the park opened for the day, usually around one p.m. We could see the roller coaster from the windows of our house,” recalled Haraden.  

Listening to his grandfather’s stories about the park and “old Nantasket” is what sparked his interest in Hull’s history. 

Paragon Park struggled financially during the Great Depression and amid the war rationing of World War II, yet it managed to survive. A series of fires in 1963 destroyed numerous buildings and attractions, including the roller coaster, but it once again rebounded and reopened.  

The Great Blizzard of 1978 inundated the park with 6 feet of water in February, which necessitated replacing the motors and machinery of most rides, arcade games and prize inventory, and drying out buildings. Despite the extensive damage, diligent clean-up efforts allowed the resilient Paragon Park to open in time for the 1978 season.  

Paragon Park remained operational until 1985, when the Stones sold it for $5.5 million to developer Chester Kahn, who converted it into condominiums. Ultimately, the Stones no longer had the energy to continue investing further capital in the expensive endeavor. The high cost it would entail to modernize the park and compete with other larger, contemporary theme parks sealed Paragon’s fate. 

Haraden cited its ownership as a factor contributing to Paragon’s longevity. While Dodge launched the enterprise, by the 1920s, Stone and Golden had taken over.

“The Stone family eventually became the sole owner, and it really was the family business for decades,” explained Haraden. “The Stones were a part of the community and employed many Hull kids (and adults) and kept the park going through the Great Depression, World War II and good and bad economic cycles,” “I know it was hard for them to make the decision to sell because they knew the impact Paragon Park had on Hull and on the South Shore. You don’t get that kind of family spirit from corporate ownership, where every decision comes down to the bottom line.”

Not all its attractions would be lost to the trash heap of history though; pieces of Paragon Park would endure, much to supporters’ delight. 

Mark Mason, manager of Wild World amusement park in Bowie, Maryland, bid $28,000 at a June 12, 1985, auction to buy the Giant Coaster, which he had dismantled and rebuilt in time for the next season. It would be renamed the Wild One. Wild World eventually became Six Flags America, and the coaster lived on, but according to a May 9 Boston.com article, Six Flags may close after this season, leaving the 108-year-old ride’s future in doubt once again.  

Introduced to the park in 1928, the Paragon Carousel is unique among carousels as the last grand carousel built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Additionally, it is one of the few vintage carousels still in operation in its original home of Hull. 

It is classified as a “grand carousel” because it has four rows of horses and two Roman chariots. Only five carousels in the world today carry the rare Roman chariots and it’s one of fewer than 100 grand carousels remaining in America. A talented group of craftsmen created the carousel including cabinet makers, woodworkers and sculptors, most of whom immigrated from Germany and Italy. Master carvers such as Frank Caretta and Gustav Dentzel left an indelible mark on the Paragon Carousel.

The Friends of the Paragon Carousel describe its intricate design as adorned with “beveled mirrors, 35 oil paintings and luxuriously festooned and bejeweled original horses. Scalloped rounding boards with 36 carved cherubs and 18 goddess faces complete the decoration.” Music is provided by a Wurlitzer Band Organ (1926), one of only 40 ever crafted. 

Three local businessmen acquired the Paragon Carousel at auction in late 1985 and transported it to its current location at 205 Nantasket Ave. in 1986, next door to the clocktower building that was once used as a railroad depot, and just a few hundred yards away from its original spot. Marie Schleiff, a Friends of the Paragon Carousel member who visited Paragon Park as a kid, remembered that people came from all over to witness the spectacle. 

When the businessmen decided to sell in 1996, another effort to save the carousel led to the formation of the Friends of the Paragon Carousel, which bought it for $1.1 million. Thanks to funds provided through grants, special events and donations, ongoing restoration and maintenance efforts help preserve the carousel and its exquisite craftsmanship. 

In 2013, the Friends opened Paragon Park Museum in Hull’s clocktower building, where people can explore the history of Nantasket Beach and its iconic amusement park through artifacts, memorabilia, videos and storyboards. It also houses the workshop where carousel curator James Hardison restores the town’s cherished Paragon Carousel. “We’ve had visitors from all over the world,” said Schleiff. “Nostalgia is alive and well. It takes people back to a simpler time.” 

Part of Hull’s intriguing history is that it was part of America’s first steamship line (1818-1929) that ran from Boston to Nantasket Beach. “It was known as the playground of rich and famous at the time,” recounted Schleiff. “When the steamboats stopped coming, the park started to die.” So, what set Paragon Park apart? How did it stay open for 80 years? “The beauty of the beach is what drew people to Nantasket, and that’s what set it apart,” stated Schleiff.

“Paragon Park was an experience that became such a beloved part of people’s childhoods—whether they were from Hull originally or visited in the summer,” mused Haraden of what made the park so iconic and memorable. 

“It wasn’t that everyone was a thrill-ride enthusiast. Paragon had a social aspect that would be similar to other generations going to the movies or to a mall,” Haraden explained. “Part of the appeal was that there was no admission fee, unlike many theme parks today. You bought tickets for individual rides and paid to play games—or not. You could literally spend the whole day there with your friends and not spend a dime. That is why it endured within people’s memories, as it wasn’t a one-time thing in the summer.”

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