Palace Playland

For me, there's just something eerie, especially in daylight, about abandoned amusement parks. It's a bit haunting! Growing up, we got to spend one day a summer here. I can still hear, in my dreams, the sounds of the merry-go-round of little cars and trucks, with horns and bells ringing continuously. Later, summers in high school found me hitching alone to take in various concerts at the Palace Ballroom at OOB. Just about every Saturday night, there was a traveling show of chart-stoppers that I made myself go see. The Buckinghams, Gene Pitney, the Zombies, Peter and Gordon, the Grassroots, the Left Banke, the Searchers, the Temeloes, the Troggs, Manfred Mann, the Turtles, Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth were just a few of the entertaining shows I witnessed. The best? No question-- The Animals, with all original members. What a night! The Palace was a legendary place. The place to be, if you were into the 'music scene' at the time.