Sydney's Luna Park: the bittersweet life of a fun park #2

The Midway (Laughing Clown)

  The dark times began on 9th June 1979. 

The Ghost Train was destroyed by fire. Seven lives were lost - six were kids.

Luna Park was immediately closed down.

Eventually, the shock gave way to suspicion, accusations and implications. 

Inquiries into the fire yielded no proof. It was a terrible accident.

                                       smh.com.au

The saga for the next 25 years involved a colourful and sometimes sinister cast of characters.

The Luna Park site was attractive to the powerful money men and developers 

... there were plenty of them in Sydney in the glittery 80s. 

And then there were the politicians, also powerful ... and the lawyers....

Sydney Morning Herald 1981 (Nat Gallery Aust)

Up to  2004,  Luna Park opened - closed - opened - closed several times. 

Many original rides and artworks were sold or dismantled, buildings were bulldozed.

 In fact it was closed - dark - silent for a total of 18 years 

... "Just For Fun" only for the rats and cockroaches.

But Luna Park was impossible to ignore 
- opposite the Sydney Opera House, at the foot of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

Thousands of Sydneysiders and visitors saw it there every day

... still fronted by the silly face which faded and disintegrated, became more and more of a horror. 

                                                                   flickr.com (arkaya962)

For that 25 years, the Friends of  Luna Park led by Martin Sharp, the designer of the jolly Mr Moon Face, remained visible and vigilant. Not all the art deco murals, designs, and architecture were destroyed.

Their reward was the eventual heritage classification of the face and spires ... and in 2004, the rebirth of Luna Park.  

It did not become a commercial site, office buildings with-a-view, high-end apartments, or even “an adult entertainment centre with high rise towers”. 

 The spruced-up entrance now fronts rides, music and crazy fun as ever, 

plus cafes, concert halls and function rooms. 

And Sydney's Luna Park is one of only two amusement parks in the world that are protected by government legislation.

2004 rebirth year

                                                                                                         wikipedia.italia

 and now you can even eat a chocolate Luna Park ....

             figjamandlimecordial.com