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Closed theme park enchants visitors |
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Thursday, 04 October 2007 |
by ALLISON CASEY
Lifestyles Reporter
Somewhere over the rainbow, in a magical land called Beech Mountain, there’s a place where nostalgia is at its finest.
Now closed, the remains of the Land of Oz theme park sits high atop Beech Mountain behind a green gate with big yellow letters that read ‘OZ.’
Remains of the park’s former glory still exist. Dorothy’s house, Uncle Henry’s Cabin, and a small castle dot the yellow brick road.
Trees with clay faces line the path. One balloon from the original ski-lift-type balloon ride still remains.
This weekend, Emerald Mountain will host the “Autumn at Oz” event.
“People get confused and call it a festival,” said Cindy Keller Porter,
Emerald Mountain Realty property manager. “It’s a party. It’s a lame
festival, but a really grand party.”
The first event was in 1993 during Hurricane Andrew, Porter said.
“We thought we were going to have to cancel it, but my boss wisely said
‘you can’t tell these kids that they’re going to Oz and then cancel
it.’ The sun eventually came out and it turned into a beautiful day.”
The Autumn at Oz party has been held every year since to a larger and
larger crowd. In the first year, about 800 people walked down the
yellow brick road.
Now between 6,500 and 7,000 people walk through the gates.
Porter said there are more costumed performers today than the park ever had when it was open.
“A lot of our residents help out,” she said. “I’ve seen men, women and children all dressed like Dorothy.”
Porter said she has seen people come from as far away as California and England.
Tickets are $15 in advance and can be purchased through the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce.
The Land of Oz theme park opened in 1970 to keep the ski slope workers employed
all year.
“The ‘70s were a really turbulent time, with the Vietnam War and social
upheaval and hippies and that whole era,” Porter said. “I think people
were trying to get back to a simpler, more pure time. People were
looking for an escape.”
Jack Pentes designed the park on behalf of Carolina Caribbean Corporation, the same company that designed Tweetsie Railroad.
He drew out the park while on his knees to gain the perspective of a child.
“To me, that makes the difference between an artist and the rest of us,” Porter said.
Land of Oz was hugely successful for many reasons, Porter said.
The remote mountain location added to the whimsical environment.
“Beech Mountain is a magical place,” Porter said. “The unique
topography of the land and the misty mornings lend itself to be a very
enchanting and magical location.”
The park eventually closed in 1980 when Carolina Caribbean Corporation
went bankrupt due to competition from newer, more advanced theme parks.
“It constantly amazes me how many people went to this mom and pop park
and how much impact it had,” Porter said. “It was pre-Disney and that
glamour.”
After the park was closed it faced severe vandalism for 13 years.
“We basically had to do an above ground archeology dig,” said Dr.
Charles A. Watkins, director of the Appalachian Cultural Museum.
Though the museum is temporarily closed, artifacts from the Land of Oz
are currently stored in Old Belk Library Classroom Building.
The museum owns pieces of the yellow brick road, the witch’s castle, munchkin houses and many original costumes and souvenirs.
“The Land of Oz was one of western North Carolina’s foremost tourist
attractions,” Watkins said. “We use it to talk about modern tourism in
the mountains.”
In 1993, Emerald Mountain Realty took over the property and turned the surrounding areas into a housing development.
“Most of our neighbors are really fun-loving people,” she said. “You
have to be a special kind of person to live at Beech Mountain anyway,
and especially Oz.”
“There’s lessons to be learned from Oz,” Porter said. “I don’t think
there’s anything controversial about having a heart or a brain or
courage. It’s a lesson and entertainment.”
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