Aquarena Springs

I’d imagine that most people, particularly those of my generation and before, have fond memories of family vacations, in particular those that are today often called “road trips”. It’s funny to hear younger people refer to driving vacations that way, because during my childhood most all vacations were road trips, so no such descriptor was needed. My childhood vacations frequently centered around Tennessee and Ohio, my parent’s original “stomping grounds”, although we did hit Disneyland a couple of times. But sometimes a shorter, less epic journey was in order, and Aquarena Springs filled the bill nicely. Located in San Marcos, Texas, just a little over 200 miles from our Fort Worth home, Aquarena Springs was the sort of amusement park that was commonplace in the 1950s and ’60s. Unfortunately those parks, and the values that made them so popular, are all but extinct today.
Geologically speaking, Aquarena Springs consists of hundreds of natural fissures, springs, that discharge an average of 225 million gallons of water each day.A dam, built by Edward G. Burleson in 1849, resulted in the formation of Spring Lake. The surrounding property was purchased in 1926 by Arthur B. Rogers (for the grand sum of $21,466), his son Paul constructing a lakeside hotel, The Landmark Inn, in 1928. Although the hotel was closed for a time during the Great Depression, it was reopened in 1946 with the addition of glass-bottom boats. But it was in 1951 that Aquarena Springs began its evolution into a true amusement park. The Submarine Theater was constructed, the audience enjoying a variety of underwater shows. So impressive was the submersible theater that it warranted the cover of the June 1952 issue of Popular Mechanics, where it was described as “an engineering marvel”. Included in the shows, performed every day except Christmas, were mermaids, diving ducks, Glurpo the aquatic clown, and the unforgettable Ralph, the Swimming Pig. A spillway was constructed to provide a swimming area, and the Alpine Swiss Sky Ride (shown), manufactured by Von Roll Seilbahnen AG, was added. A 220 foot revolving observation tower was also constructed, but I must confess that I don’t remember that at all. The park had a restaurant, gift shop, and concession stands. At one time Aquarena Springs saw 250,000 visitors annually, and was the oldest amusement park west of the Mississippi. But attendance began to decline, and the park was ultimately sold to Texas State University in 1994.
It was operated as an amusement park for two more years, at which time the university’s life sciences department began to convert it to an environmental learning center/wetlands project. For some time after the purchase, structures such as Dr. Merriman’s log cabin, General Burleson’s home, and a 100 year-old gristmill were still standing. But as I write this, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with the help of a couple million of our tax dollars, is preparing to demolish all remaining evidence of human construction, the goal being to return the area to the state it was in over 100 years ago. From the Texas State University website:

“We no longer offer the Ralph the Swimming Pig Show or Mermaid Show, but there are still lots of fun things to do at Aquarena Center. The Glass-Bottom Boat Tours remain along with many new exhibits such as the Aquarium, Wetlands Walk, and the Texas Rivers Center. We hope that you enjoy our new environmental education focus.”

So in effect it’s still an amusement park, only now the goal is to amuse a new generation of eco-conscious types. I say, bring back the mermaids and the swimming pig.