- [Narrator] This time on "Trolley Park," visit the last remaining trolley park on the West Coast and see the country's oldest roller rink at Portland Oregon's Oaks Park.

(upbeat music) (people chattering) (children cheering) (gentle solemn music) - [Narrator] There was a time in this country when in almost any city, you could ride a trolley.

(gentle solemn music) In the early 1900s, trolley companies operated over 17,000 miles of track.

(gentle solemn music) These companies started buying land at the end of the line, adding picnic areas, playgrounds, and carousels.

(gentle solemn music) These trolley parks helped usher in the golden age of amusement parks.

Once, there were over a thousand trolley parks.

Now, only a dozen remain.

This is the story of one of those trolley parks.

(gentle solemn music) (light music) At the height of their popularity in the early 1900s, most trolley parks were located in the northeast.

Even today, of the dozen trolley parks still in operation, only one exists on the West Coast, Oaks Park in Portland, Oregon.

(light music) - Oaks Park is a Portland original.

It was opened in 1905, so one of the longest continually operating amusement parks in the country, and is a real, genuine trolley park.

(trolley chugging) There's something really magical about, you come down here, you ride the carousel, you go in the roller rink, you just walk the grounds and know your great, great, and sometimes now great, great, great, great grandparents were doing the same thing.

It ties together a generation.

(rollercoaster chugging) (upbeat music) (rides clunking) (children yelling) (rides whirring) Another term that was often used for this kind of park in its heyday was a picnic park, which we still are.

We have large picnic grounds.

People are still welcome to bring a family picnic without having to pay to get in at all.

You can just come and enjoy the beauty of river scenery, we're right here on the Willamette River.

Our natural footprint around us is quite spectacular here on this little isthmus into the river.

(seagull chirping) It is at the far south edge of Portland, about 10 minutes from downtown.

Really, the city grew up around us.

So we look around here and the word that comes to mind is eclectic.

If you like something from the 20s, you're going to find it, if you like the biggest thrills from yesterday, you're going to find it, and everything in between.

Definitely geared towards families.

The kiddie coaster, which is the Zoom Coaster, that's been here since the 90s and actually got rejuvenated this year.

There's also Sky Fighters, which is a real classic.

That has been here forever.

Oh, the carousel, it is really the heartbeat of the park and it is a 1912 hand-carved Herschell-Spillman carousel.

(gentle music) (crow cawing) We had a period in the late 70s, early 80s, where we were really kind of in a slump and it was not the happening place to be anymore, and it was time for us to get with the times.

(people cheering) (bell ringing) (people screaming) (gentle upbeat music) (people screaming) So the Atmosfear is fundamentally a pendulum ride, and it goes either, we call it the 180, we can just swing back and forth, you get in one line for that.

Or you get the other ride, you go all the way over the top and do the full 360 swing all the way around.

(bell ringing) (people screaming) I think of our classic rides that we had in the early days.

There was a Blue Streak roller coaster, which a lot of amusement parks had.

We had shoot the chutes, which was a big one, a very early log flume ride.

We had a laughing gallery and a natatorium out in the river, basically a swimming pool in the river, so they'd cage off part of the river and you could go swim in there.

The Dance Pavilion is an amazing building that has really kind of evolved with whatever is popular in America over the years.

So it started out as a band shell, and John Philip Sousa played there, all of the big acts of the day came and played on the Oaks Lawn.

(jaunty classic orchestral music) (jaunty classic orchestral music) The first private group that purchased it was a family, Edward Bollinger bought it.

He had been a park manager early, early on and bought it in the 20s.

He passed it to his son, Bob, who ran it for many, many years.

Most of the time that Portlanders, current Portlanders, will remember, Bob Bollinger was running the park.

- [Robert] Well, the city was quite small at that time and the Oaks was really built on the outskirts of the town, and the only way to reach it was by the interurban streetcar, which is a railroad stationed at the Oaks where patrons on and off the trolleys.

The Oaks catered just to family picnics.

It did have an assortment of rides though, and they had dancing, also had a large auditorium where they put on shows.

- Bob was fun.

Even after he retired, he would just come walk down here and enjoy watching families have fun.

And in 1985, he actually donated the park, lock, stock, and barrel, to the Oaks Park Association, a nonprofit that had been set up to perpetuate the trolley park and keep the roller rink and the attractions and keep this a place for family fun, rather than more condos or that kind of thing on the waterfront.

And also, very important to him was keeping something of old Portland's character.

He could see that Portland was changing and wanted little bits of what old Portland was so that new generations could could connect to it.

(bright upbeat music) - Thank you.

- Thank you.

(bright upbeat music) (skaters chattering) (bright upbeat music) (skaters chattering) - So we actually opened in 1906 for the roller rink.

The amusement park opened in 1905, so just one year later, making us the oldest roller rink in the country.

This is a floor like no other.

It is the perfect size, the perfect shape, the perfect consistency for all kinds of skating.

The minute you say you're a competitive roller skater, the first thing everybody does is go, "Oh, roller derby?"

But for me, I was a competitive artistic roller skater, which is what you would think of as figure skating like you see in the Olympics, only on roller skates.

- When I was little, I was about six, and when I first came and really started skating, I remember playing with my sister in the middle and trying to spin, but my wheels wouldn't turn, and I kept falling over, and it was a fun time.

I feel so free when I'm skating and it's the one thing that makes me truly happy.

- This skating club is so amazing.

I have actually belonged to a couple other skating clubs in my life.

This one is the most intergenerational skating club I have ever seen.

You have little children under the age of six all the way to adult, 65 plus, who love to come and skate.

We practice together, we recreate together, we enjoy our time together.

(bright upbeat music) (skaters chattering) - Bo and Mary Lou are regulars who come to the rink just weekly or a couple times a week because they love skating, their friends are here, it's good exercise, all of those things.

They have a lovely style.

They do some kind of team dance skating together and they run our Soul Fit class.

And it's all about that like, happy roller skating vibe of how good your body feels when you're rolling and moving to the music.

- We actually met in the Middle East in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

She was working in the hospital as an RN and I was clearing the minefields there.

And where we would take our injured is the hospital that she worked at, and we met in those circumstances.

- That's in 1992.

I think I fell in love with the rink because it's so big, and the wood flooring is good, and I see that most of the families are getting together to skate.

- I remember we came in and we were impressed instantly with the rink.

And I think it was just like, I could tell it was for all ages and for all abilities and everyone working on things.

And then, you know, there was just a sense like, as soon as we came, we were welcomed and included instantly.

When we first started skating, we wanted to take the dance class that was here and we befriended the instructor.

When she took a step back, we naturally evolved into that position.

- Then we took over her class.

- You know, for me, I think like, the biggest thing about skating at Oaks Park is just how beneficial it's been to my family.

You know, it brought my family closer together, which I appreciated.

And then it kept us close for long periods of time.

(bright upbeat music) (skaters chattering) - In the very, very early days where the organ hangs now was actually a bandstand that an orchestra came out and played.

Then around the 20s, we got our first pipe organ.

(jaunty organ music) (jaunty organ music) - [Robert] Yeah, to my knowledge, there's no other rink that's operated continuously since 1905.

Of course, had annual roller skating shows in the rink, and those were put on by the amateur skaters of various styles of skating and with the costume and so forth.

It is something where the whole family can enjoy it at one time.

(jaunty organ music) (jaunty organ music) - In our case, we were opened by the Oregon Water Power Commission as a destination at the end of their trolley line to increase weekend ridership.

People were using the trolley to get to work and things like that during the week, but on the weekend, it wasn't as interesting to people and they wanted a reason for people to get on there.

So it would go between Oregon City and downtown Portland and we were the big destination stop on the weekend.

(patrons chattering) - Well, Portland is considered Streetcar City because it was the city that streetcars built.

And if you overlay a map of the trolley lines, which there were eventually 40 different lines, onto a map of Portland, you'll see that the neighborhoods are all located along trolley lines or at the end of trolley lines.

And there was a hand in glove relationship between the developers, the realtors, and the streetcar companies.

The theory being, you'll build the line and it will increase the value of the land and people will flock to it to build houses, which they did.

We lived down the valley in Albany and I came up to visit my grandmother.

She did all of her banking and shopping by streetcar, and she would take me along.

Just after we departed Island Station, there were some sparks, the pole came off, the motorman had to get out and go around to the back and grab the rope and pull the pole back onto the line.

And I was fascinated by that.

I wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

I was probably five or six years old at the time, but I knew I wanted to grow up to be a motorman at some point.

(laughs) (park-goers chattering) - Give him a ticket.

(park-goers chattering) (trolley horn honking) (trolley bell ringing) (trolley whirring and clanking) (trolley whirring and clanking) - Antique Power Land, which is now called the Power Land Heritage Park, is located in Brooks, Oregon, which is about 45 minutes south of Portland of the metro area on I-5.

I think there are 15 or 16 different museums there of all different kinds, all the way from tractors, to motorcycles, to small steam engines.

One of the museums is the Trolley Museum.

I became an operator, conductor and motorman, tour guide, and so forth.

(trolley whirring) That's number 48, which is from Blackpool in England in the United Kingdom.

It was built at the Motherwell Factory in Scotland back in the 1920s, and it's been rebuilt several times, it used to have balconies.

Well, the car barn at Power Land is where the cars are stored out from under the weather.

It's the oldest and biggest museum of its kind in the West Coast.

Equipment from all over the world there, which is what makes us different.

The restorations are all done by the members, they're volunteers.

This is a labor of love for most of us.

And I'm told that it's something that's going to go away unless we can attract a lot of young members, because folks like myself rode the last of the classic street cars and the line to Oregon City, which went past Oaks Park, ceased operating in February of 1958, and that's quite a few years ago, so people don't have memories anymore of those kind of street cars.

And so that inspired a lot of us.

That's, you know, they call it nostalgia.

Apparently, you can't really feel nostalgic if you don't have something to remember.

So now, the operation today, being in a museum setting, we try to make that as authentic as possible and will create some new feeling of nostalgia.

- [Ticket Taker] Yeah, hurry and come on aboard.

(patrons chattering) - In the early days, say around 1913, 1914, whole strings of open street cars would assemble on Water Street in Southeast Portland and they would board groups of people, perhaps a church or a school group, or trade union group, whatever.

They would sponsor an excursion out to Oaks Park and they would all get on, sometimes a band would get on, as well.

People were dressed in their Sunday finest, the men would have straw boaters, the women would have these elaborate summer dresses, and of course, lots of kids in tow and they would head out to the park.

(patrons chattering) (children screaming) When Oaks Park first opened, the only feasible way to get there would've been by streetcar.

Car 1067 is the last surviving locally-built interurban street car in Oregon.

It was built in 1907 or 1908.

It survives because it was a beach cabin.

After the system shut down, it was sold, as many car bodies were, for use as sheds and as diners and as cabins, in this case.

Well, Portland's iconic street cars are the Council Crest Cars, because the Council Crest line is often described as the most beautiful street car ride in the United States, because it wound up through the West Hills up to Portland Height.

At one time, there was an amusement park up there, and in later days, it was just a park.

So there are two cars that survive from the 10 in the Council Crest series, and those are 503 and 506, both of which are now at the Trolley Museum down in Brooks.

Well, the Lamachaur Trolley is in operation.

That's a satellite operation of the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society that goes along the old Red Electric line that was known as the Jefferson Street branch.

I should mention that those are reproductions, they were done by Gomaco in Iowa, and they came out to the Trolley Museum and they took measurements and photographs of the original Council Crest street cars, the 503 and the 506.

(trolley chugging) (bell ringing) My memories of Oaks Park, going there with my girlfriend, and then wife, before families, I remember the roller rink, I remember the music of the pipe organ really well, I remember going up on the Ferris wheel, and of course, really well remember the tailgate parties, watching, taking a picnic, staying till night, and watching the fireworks on the 4th of July.

- 4th of July has, for years and years and years, been a big, big deal for us.

We do our annual fireworks display and have, for as long as anyone can remember, or is recorded in Portland, and the number of firework shows in Portland has really started to dwindle.

So we're one of the last standing for people to come and enjoy that tradition.

And it's one of the only days where we become a gated park that day.

You pay to get in, and then you can do everything.

We only do that twice a year, and that's during 4th of July and our October Fest Festival in the fall.

And people line up starting really early in the morning, 'cause this is their family or their organization tradition.

We have some churches, some businesses, that they get together on 4th of July also and they come down here every year, first in line to get that spot that they've been in for 20 years.

It's a really important tradition.

- [Patron] I'm just going to park in my handicap spot over there.

(children chattering) Thank you!

- Yep!

(children crying, chatting) Dad, look at the balloon!

- Where?

Oh, no.

- It's flying away!

- [Dad] The balloon is getting away.

(gentle music) (patrons chattering) - 4th of July, it's more than just the park.

People come here and have a wonderful time and enjoy the day, but it's really for the whole community.

Where we're situated, people line the Sellwood Bridge to watch it, there's public parks above us on a hill, across us from the river, and next door to us, and people pack those parks to come and enjoy the fireworks.

And we just love to be able to offer that to our city.

(bell ringing) - I've been coming here forever, it's awesome.

When I was young, I used to come here like, twice a week, and I had my fifth, sixth, seventh, and I think also eighth birthday here.

It's just always been an awesome place.

(children chattering) - Atmosfear is definitely not your beginner ride.

That is not the ride you start with at all.

But it's definitely fun once you know what you're doing.

(children chattering) - So I came off of that one, I don't know the name of, but I really liked it, 'cause it took you up and then down a little bit, then back up.

(laughs) I love it because it's so fun and there's a whole bunch of rides and it has lots of snacks and stuff to cool down.

(burger sizzling) (patrons chattering) (gentle bright music) (patrons chattering) - 4th of July is also one of the only times that we are open late.

So we're open until midnight.

You get to enjoy the amazing ride lights.

Those are really an attraction all on their own.

(gentle music) (patrons screaming and laughing) (fireworks booming) (patrons chattering) (fireworks booming) (patrons chattering) (fireworks popping) Oaks Park is important because it gives commonality to your neighbor.

It helps for future generations to understand past generations and vice versa, because you're in this historic atmosphere that puts your mind that way.

You start thinking about others when you're in a place like this.

(gentle bright music) (patrons chattering) (gentle bright music) - Let's go again, again!

- Whee!

(patrons chattering) (gentle bright music) (patrons screaming) (gentle bright music) (gentle bright music) (patrons chattering) (gentle bright music) (happy violin music) (bright upbeat music)