A Kansas teen dreams about restoring an amusement park. Pretty cool for a kid to have this dream

[demtenjeep]

A Wichita teen’s multimillion-dollar campaign to renovate Joyland, the city’s defunct amusement park, has taken a tiny step forward.

But Alex East – who drew public attention in May 2011 after he asked the Wichita City Council to fund his $10 million push to buy and restore the park at 2801 S. Hillside – still faces an enormous project plagued by major problems.

Six years after it closed, Joyland is littered with debris, defaced by vandals, and decaying with weather and time.

And East’s Joyland Restoration Project has about $6,000 – a fraction of the $10 million he estimates will be needed to buy and renovate the park. None of which discourages East.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/01/2394335/wichita-teens-joyland-restoration.html#storylink=cpy

[grasswire]

1. is he crowd funding?

Someone oughta teach this kid how to present his project on social media funding sites. If they can raise $600,000 for that school bus aide who was teased by boys, he should be able to scare up some bucks.

I think I'll take this story to the guys at American Picker. They love to help this kind of project.

[demtenjeep]

2. he is trying, there is a FB page and people are sending in donations

I just am trying to help spread the news.


I don't know the kid, but loved the park. I hope he is successful

[pipoman]

3. Intersting you mention pickers

the park sold or auctioned much of the props and other smalls (and some bigs). I have a couple of pieces from Joyland I purchased from a long time antiques dealer in Wichita who had many pieces.

[demtenjeep]

4. like what?

we would just love to hav eour park back

[pipoman]

5. He had/has

displays, game props, signs, other things I can't remember. To the best of my recollection the stuff began showing up at antique stores in Wichita around 2000 maybe? One of the stores which still had some of it last time I was there was Blondie's Antique Mall at 827 E Central. I believe a dealer named Danny (If you want his full name PM me) who sets up in there and at Hewitts Antiques between 1st and 2nd on Market is the seller.