Well, I couldn’t resist following up on the Pleasure Island installment by attending Bob McLaughlin’s tour of the old site this past Sunday. If you grew up in the Boston area and still haven’t seen Bob’s book, “Pleasure Island: 1959-1969”, do yourself a favor and pick it up at the local Barnes & Noble. The second edition has been released and there are a lot of new photographs.
Here are some artifacts still visible at the site (Audubon Road in Wakefield).
The hull of the Clipper Ship in the middle of the first pond.
The lagoon where Moby Dick was last seen.
One of the two rails they used to transport Moby into the lagoon.
The charging rhino slid along this rail, threatening foolhardy whaling boats as they approached the channel (I don’t recall there being a rhino in the book).
The electrical station that controlled the dolphins.
Aerial view I pulled off of Google Earth. No sign of Moby Dick.
The book details the complete history of the park. I couldn’t put it down.
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