A Tilted House In The Bronx Captures Teenager’s Interest

A teenager from Queens, New York, was fascinated with a house that was a bit off-kilter. John Bulakowski didn’t live in the home and it wasn’t located in his neighborhood. He traveled to The Bronx to see it at Freedomland U.S.A.

“The Casa Loca had no exterior appeal whatsoever,” recalled Bulakowski of Naugatuck in a new book about America’s history theme park. “In 1962, we were passing by and it, unlike the other attractions, had no waiting line. For that matter, it had no fancy lights, no people carts and no electricity either.”

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Photo: This 1963 photograph shows the exterior of Casa Loca and spotlights the new book about Freedomland. Courtesy Michael R. Virgintino Collection

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Casa Loca was located in The Old Southwest section of Freedomland that featured seven themed areas depicting American history. The complete story about the park's conception, building, operation and eventual bankruptcy is the subject of Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History. It is available on Amazon, eBay, Barnes & Noble and Goodreads. The suggested retail price is $24.95.

Published by Theme Park Press, the world's leading independent publisher of books about the Disney company and its history, its films and animation, and its theme parks, the 300+-page tale includes first-time interviews with park employees and never before published photographs. Freedomland U.S.A. was celebrated as the “Disneyland of the East” and it was one of the most innovative and beloved theme parks in America. While it survived only five seasons (1960-1964), to this day the park generates fond memories among baby boomers who enjoyed its history-themed attractions.

Freedomland U.S.A. (visit the Facebook group) was conceived and built by C.V. Wood and his Marco Engineering Company. Known to many as Woody, he was Disneyland’s first employee and he brought Walt Disney’s imagination to life by leading the team that built that park. He then created Marco Engineering to build theme parks and other venues across the country. Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington and the community of Lake Havasu, Arizona, continue to prosper. The northeast Bronx marshland between the New England Thruway and the Hutchinson River Parkway that featured Freedomland U.S.A. eventually became a co-operative housing development and a shopping center.

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To arrange a group presentation about the history of Freedomland along with a memorabilia display, contact Freedomlandusa@yahoo.com .

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An Entertainment Placeholder

Unknown to Woody and the general public, landowner William Zeckendorf, Sr., local politicians, city planners and construction unions considered the park a “placeholder” until property variances permitted significant development on the marshland.

When addressing the demise of Freedomland, the book dismisses the urban legend that Freedomland closed due to the arrival of the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Freedomland, according to research documented in the book, was doomed before the first shovel entered the ground during construction. The land was more valuable (financially and for city planning) to develop than it was for a theme park.

Historically Themed Attractions

Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History provides extensive background about the park and information about the various attractions from the recreation of the Chicago Fire to a trip on a bull boat in America’s untamed wilderness on the Northwest Fur Trapper attraction. Dark rides included the Earthquake of San Francisco, a Buccaneer attraction and the Tornado recreation in the New Orleans section of the park, and a Mine Caverns ride deep into the earth in the Old Southwest. The dark rides and several other attractions were created by Arrow Development, which designed attractions for Disneyland and many other parks.

Another popular Freedomland attraction allowed park guests to witness the early stages of audio-automatronics as they rode on a correspondents’ wagon through the battle lines of rival Civil War armies. Guests also enjoyed Wild West shoot-outs at Fort Cavalry and staged robberies on vintage steam trains. Young children especially enjoyed a ride aboard Danny the Dragon, the fire-breathing mythical monster with a heart of gold.

While he enjoyed all that Freedomland offered, Bulakowski continuously returns to that tilted attraction as his best memory.

“We went in one end not knowing what to expect and came out the other amazed by what our senses told us was impossible. Simple disorientation and gravity created an illusion that had cans rolling up a table and out a window as well as pool table balls that went uphill. More than 50 years later, I thank the Clark’s Trading Post [Lincoln, New Hampshire] for recreating what I consider to be the number one Freedomland attraction.”

Tuttle’s Rustic House (now Tuttle’s Shootin’ Gallery) at Clark’s Trading Post was constructed from the same blueprints as Freedomland’s Casa Loca. It also maintains many of the same illusions. A small ornamental metal fence outside the house originally stood in Freedomland’s New Orleans section.

Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History provides the personal stories of park employees through interviews with character actors who portrayed gunslinger Billy the Kid and cowgirl star Annie Oakley, hospitality hosts, restaurant staff and parking attendants, and those who operated some of the attractions, including the popular Great Lakes sternwheelers.

A section of the book includes plenty of memories from the teenagers, such as Bulakowski, and younger kids who were in awe of the park’s fun and excitement. But, besides his personal memories of Freedomland, Bulakowski also contributed various research and documentation that has been included in the book.