History Theme Park For Dunedin Never Developed

Many New Yorkers have relocated to Florida. One that didn’t go through with the move was a theme park.

Freedomland U.S.A. was an American history theme park located in The Bronx. The Co-op City housing development and its nearby shopping center now occupy the property. The park lasted just five seasons (1960-1964) before it was razed. For a while, some thought it would move to Dunedin.

Freedomland U.S.A. (visit the Facebook group) was conceived and built by C.V. Wood. 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.

The new book, Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History, provides the story about the park from conception to bankruptcy. It features the personal stories of park employees through interviews with character actors who portrayed gunslinger Billy the Kid and cowgirl star Annie Oakley (both former New Yorkers), hospitality hosts, restaurant staff and parking attendants, and those who operated some of the attractions. A chapter of the book includes memories from many baby boomers who enjoyed the park's attractions, fun and excitement. Published by Theme Park Press, the book is available online from Amazon, eBay, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble.

The park was a placeholder for the land, but the public did not know this at the time. Since the property was marshland, variances were required before tall apartment buildings could be built as New York City, especially The Bronx, was negotiating its urban footprint transition. The park needed to last five years to secure the variances. It did, and then it declared bankruptcy. Assets were sold and land was cleared as Co-op City rose on the property.

Eyes On Florida

Several survival options were considered for the park during the last couple of years of Freedomland. One was to consolidate its attractions from 85 to 30 acres and surround it with the housing development. Another was to pack up and move to Dunedin.

The owner of the New York property was William Zeckendorf, Sr., and his Webb & Knapp company. His business was collapsing, and Zechendorf secured a loan to pay debts from real estate at Dunedin Beach, where Webb & Knapp was associated with the Honeymoon Isle project. At the time, the Honeymoon Isle developer stated, according to Florida newspaper reports, that the New York business affairs would not affect the Florida project nor the plan to bring Freedomland to the beach. He stated that “we are taking a long look and will watch Freedomland this summer. If it looks good, we hope to bring it here. But we don’t plan to bring a white elephant. It would be a nice industry for this area.”

Neither option occurred, nor did any of the other possibilities that had been discussed by the landowner, the park owners and New York City officials. The park was declared a bankrupt during 1965.

One possible reason for Freedomland's failure to relocate to Dunedin could be attributed to the swirling rumors and speculation at the time that Walt Disney had selected a site in Florida for his new east coast park.