Not a hot air balloon, but a gas balloon prepares for liftoff at the Lagoon. Possibly, it's preparation for this big Latonia racetrack event.	We're unclear if this is the same gas balloon as in our other scenes.  This image is known to be in Northern Kentucky, but may or may not be Ludlow.

 

Additional Gas Balloon preparations at the Lagoon

“After successfully ascending in a balloon Wednesday night at the Lagoon, Frank Grubbs, the
aeronaut, circled around toward Ludlow and then came whirling down on the top of a building. 
Three of his ribs were broken and his left shoulder dislocated.”
from Maysville's Evening Bulletin, July 7, 1904

Balloon over the Lagoon from a Facebook post of Look at Ludlow	What the Lagoon looked like in 1909, from a gas balloon.

 

The Lagoon's Roller Coaster, with a View of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad.		Scene at the Lagoon, 1895		1896

 

Attractions at the Lagoon

 

Motorcycles Racing on the Motordrome: a wooden track at the Lagoon, banked at 60 degrees, and used for motorcycle racing. It opened on July 21, 1913, and could seat 8,000. It had lights for night racing. On July 30, 1913, a bike left the track and crashed into the crowd. The bike took out a light pole, and the gas and sparks created fire, and panic. At least ten people died - likely more, the numbers are sketchy - and many more were injured.

And after the tragedy, in rushed the . . . Red Cross? No, lawyers.

The 1901 flood at the Lagoon, here.

  What's new at the Lagoon for 1905? Lots.  Details here.

On July 18, 1896, the Cincinnati weekly Chic, noted that the beaches of the Lagoon were a delightful luxury, “a full acre in extent,”" and “built of sand and gravel upon a timber foundation.”  If you didn't have your own, “Suits for gentlemen and ladies may be had for a reasonable price.”  And how was the water?  “Simply perfect.”

 

Then there was the 100 acre film studio they were going to build at the Lagoon. Or maybe Fort Thomas. Details.

 

Souvenir
From a Facebook post by Gary Rolfsen

 

End of the Line, at or near the Lagoon
From a Facebook post by Gary Rolfsen

 

Autoing in the Treetops at the Ludlow Lagoon

 

Stage Coach for the Lagoon?
from the Look At Ludlow Facebook page

Announcing Kentucky Post Day at the Lagoon, 1911.

 

Clubhouse	Shoot the Chutes	Lake View
Thanks to Gary Rolfsen for these.

 

Ice Skating	Fishing	1903

 

The Boathouse and the Amphitheater	Scene at the Lagoon	The Coaster Ride	Shooting the Chutes, 1903

 

These pleasure boats at the Lagoon were at one time electric powered, and were purchased from the Chicago World's Fair, a.k.a the Columbian Exposition, They charged the 66 batteries in each boat from the trolley lines.

 

A Viking Boat at the Lagoon	A little background on these battleships, and those above, is here.

 

Dave Schroeder's history of the Ludlow Lagoon

 

We took our Lagoon page headings from this season pass from 1899.

Various ephemera from the Ludlow Lagoon

Architectural drawing of the Lagoon's Entrance