Cedar Point opened in 1870 as a destination to enjoy the sandy shores of Lake Erie. The park was reached by steam boat, early visitors were greeted by bath houses, picnic groves, beer gardens, and other amenities. The early years of Cedar Point were dominated by the use of the natural features of the area, sand, trees, and water were all important to the visitor of the point. Early structures of built on Cedar Point housed places for visitor to enjoy the natural beauty of the area, as well as gain refreshment while visiting the landscape. At the end of the nineteenth century came and the twentieth century began attitudes over use of the point changed, and more and more structures began to appear. Indoor areas like the Grand Pavilion and the Colosseum were opened to offer other activities for the visitor. Hotels opened to offer places for visitors to Cedar Point a place to stay overnight, and other games and rides appeared. The beach remained a major draw, but it had to compete with rides, shows, food, and lodging for attention by the early twentieth century.
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The park had its first golden era from 1890-1930, during that time construction of most of the early structures was complete on the park, some of those structures remain, and the early roller coasters made a name for thrill seekers. During this time period the first overland route the "Chaussee" was constructed and visitors had the option of driving their automobiles or riding one of the ferries that served Cedar Point. The Great Depression and World War Two put an end to the first golden era of the park and by the 1950's the park had fallen into disrepair.
1960 begins what can be considered a second golden era, that year 16 million dollars in improvements were announced, and this began an era of building that set the stage for the park that exists today. The 1960's was also a decade of investment that saw Cedar Point adding other parks in other markets to its company portfolio, purchasing Valley Fair as the first sister park to Cedar Point. Later other parks would be added to the portfolio, and the park would go into a reorganization that included the creation of the parent company Cedar Fair.
During the 1960s-70s new rides were constructed, buildings and infrastructure updated, and the park built its first new roller coaster since 1929. Blue Streak opened in 1964 and it is the oldest currently operating in the park. Those two decades also saw construction of the park's first steel coaster and numerous other rides that transformed the point into a modern amusement park. Cedar Point invested in rides from Arrow Dynamics during this era, pioneer of steel roller coaster construction, Arrow used new design techniques to build rides that pushed the envelope of what a roller coaster could do. First of the collaborations between Cedar Point and Arrow Dynamics was the Cedar Creek Mine Ride (CCMR) opened in 1969, it was the third mine ride built in the world, the first two opening at Six Flags parks. After a successful first collabortion, the two companies would work together in the 1970's and 1980's on new types of rides, in 1976 the Corksrew (Steel/Looping/Corksrew), 1978 Gemini (wood&steel), 1987 Iron Dragon (Inverted) coaster, and in 1989 Magnum XL200 (Hyper) coaster. By the 1980's Cedar Point was well on its way to the park that the visitor sees today, the park had begun its transformation and as the twentieth century came to a close Cedar Point was well on its way to collecting some of the highest, fastest, and most exciting rides in the United States.
The 1990's at Cedar Point slowed construction a bit from the pace of the previous two decades, but the park still invested in major rides every few years. Arrow Dynamics did not build any roller coasters at the park during the decade, but other companies put their mark on the park. European company Bollinger & Mabillard constructed two rides at Cedar Point, 1994's raptor (inverted), and 1996's Mantis (standing). Mantis was reworked in 2015 and reopened as the floorless roller coaster Rougarou. The end of the century left Cedar Point as a world class amusement park, known for its thrill rides and the premier park of its own brand, Cedar Fair which owned other parks around the country.
The twenty first century did not slow the growth of Cedar Point, and during the first two decades of the century Cedar Point has continued to build and push the envelope always looking to have the highest, fastest, and most exciting rides. The first ride of the twenty-first century was 2000's Millennium Force (Giga), the park continued to add to its record breaking rides as well. In 2003 Top Thrill Dragster opened, the first ride in the park to break 100 mph, and top 400 feet. The park added rides in 2007 - Maverick (steel-launched), 2013 - Gatekeeper (Wing), and 2016 - Valravn (Dive). Each time the park opened a new roller coaster the goal was to break records, or achieve some new headline making news for the park. Cedar Point's tagline today is that the park is "America's Roller Coast" and the investment in thrill rides continues to push the envelope of what can be done in ride construction. The first two decades of the twenty-first century was one of continued reinvention for Cedar Point as land was cleared and new rides replaced old. The park also invested in non roller coaster rides for both adults and children, shows and other attractions, as well as continuing to promote the beachfront experience and the hotel accommodations for guests.
Visitors to Cedar Point today are greeted with record breaking examples of roller coasters, as well as rides for children, and throwback rides that remind the visitor of the types of rides that were some of their favorites as children. Cedar Point continues to invest in other buildings on its grounds and providing the beach experience that first brought visitors to the point.
Below are a selection of maps from Cedar Point, each was offered to visitors of the park to help them navigate the park. Highlighted in the maps are rides and attractions of the park, and following the changes helps to understand the evolution of Cedar Point over the years.