Opened: June 23, 1906

Oaks Park Roller Rink is the oldest in the country and features a 100 X 200 square foot Wisconsin rotunda maple wood floor. The rink is home to a 1926 Wurlitzer pipe organ initially built for Portland’s Broadway Theater and was relocated to the roller rink in 1955. The Oaks Park Roller Rink is the last roller rink in the world to feature a live pipe organist during select skating sessions.

The rink was built in a floodplain and has flooded multiple times. After the 1948 Vanport flood, engineers installed airtight iron barrels under the rink so they could float during subsequent floods. The system worked during the 1964 and 1996 floods.

Manufacturer: Herschell-Spillman, North Tonawanda, NY
Built: 1912
Installed: 1926

This 48-foot-diameter, three-row, bi-level menagerie carousel features 46 hand-carved wooden animals mounted on brass poles. It also features 10 pairs of various animals, 19 horses, and seven other animals, including an extremely rare kangaroo and sea dragon. The carousel is decorated with 18 rounding boards and shields studded with hand-carved masques, and the hub is enclosed with 18 lighted scenery panels below and above the sweeps. The carousel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Manufacturer: Eli Bridge Company, Jacksonville, IL
Introduced: 1955

The Scrambler, a beloved amusement park attraction, was introduced by the Eli Bridge Company in 1955. This iconic ride quickly became a staple of carnivals and amusement parks across the United States, captivating riders with its thrilling multi-directional motion.

Oaks Park Scrambler was purchased in 1957 and was the 39th Scrambler ever built. More than 450 Scramblers have been manufactured, but the Oaks Park Scrambler is the oldest still owned by its original purchaser.

Manufacturer: Eyerly Aircraft Company, Salem, OR
Introduced: 1948

Oaks Park’s Rock-O-Plane was built in 1960 and retains the original manufacturer's paint colors. There are only 11 permanent installations of the Rock-O-Plane and roughly 30 traveling models in the country.

Lee Eyerly founded the Eyerly Aircraft Company in Salem, Oregon, in the 1930s to manufacture flight simulators for pilots. With only five sold, he took them to public events and charged people to ride it.

Manufacturer: Eyerly Aircraft Company, Salem, OR
Introduced: 1968

This polyp-type ride features six arms with two cars each and rotates counterclockwise on an off-axis. The arms rise and drop vertically during operation, causing the cars to spin.

A 2nd generation, rotating flat ride, the Spider offers a thrilling experience that simulates aspects of flight. Oaks Park Spider was built in 1974 and rebuilt in 2017.

Manufacturer: Allan Herschell Company, North Tonawanda, NY
Introduced: 1949

A popular kiddie ride consisting of little fighter jets seating two kids each, back to back, with a mounted, swiveling gun on each side. When the trigger is pressed, the gun’s electric buzzer makes what early ads described as a “realistic crackling” noise.

Oaks Park Sky Fighters, built in the 1950s, is one of the park's oldest rides. In 2011 it was rebuilt, and the original chain drive was replaced with an electric hydraulic system.

Original 1905 Structure

The Historic Dance Pavilion was originally an open-air structure, with walls added in the 1920s to allow year-round use. Prior to its enclosure, the John Philip Sousa Marching Band and Patrick Conaway and his World-Famous Band performed in space.

Throughout its long life, it has been a performance gazebo, a dance hall, an auxiliary skating rink, and even a bingo parlor! Since the mid-1990s, it has served the community as an affordable reception hall and event space, hosting weddings, community gatherings, fundraisers, quinceañeras, holiday parties, anniversary parties, and more.

After the Vanport flood, salvaged pieces of the 1943 roller rink floor were used to replace the floor, which remains today. In 2025, the space is undergoing a significant restoration project to improve accessibility and safeguard the vintage space for future generations. Among the improvements, the updates include removing the drop ceiling to expose the beautiful, original timber ceiling.

Original 1905 Structure

Framing the park's main entrance leading to the midway, the structures that currently house George's Grill, Trolley Park Pizza Co., and Sugar Rush have been standing strong since 1905.

Through the 1950s, each building on the midway was rented out to individual concessionaires, which needed to constantly refresh their offerings to remain profitable.

Early photography of Concession Stand 2 includes a ticket booth in front of the building, suggesting it was used as a sideshow attraction. Concession Stand 3 was originally labeled as the “Oriental Building” on the 1905 plan, however, early photographs from 1910 indicate that the building was used for snacks and sweet concessions, as it is today.