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FARMINGTON — For the past 130 years, Lagoon has been a Utah staple for amusement, family fun and much more.
With everything from summer relaxation to thrill rides and even musical legends, the family-owned park has almost as much history as the state of Utah itself.
As summer approaches, we take a look back at how Lagoon has grown into an iconic business within the state.
The early years
Almost everyone has had a grandparent describe life when ordinary products like candy cost merely pennies and nickels. Those were the good ol‘ days.
While the price of similar products has generally risen over the years, so has the cost of amusement parks. Today a regular day pass costs a little less than $54, but that wasn’t the case many, many years ago.
Lagoon started as Lake Park Bathing Resort on the shores of the Great Salt Lake in 1886. Eventually, that park was moved to Farmington in 1896 as “The Lagoon,” as noted by author Stephen Handy in a book the park released in 2015.
When Lake Park opened in 1886, visitors could get in for 50 cents and an extra 50 cents could get visitors into a baseball game and a bird shooting match. The resort reported more than 53,000 visitors in its first year. Entrance fees to “The Lagoon” were as low as 25 cents, as evidenced by this old advertisement in the “Layton Lancet.”
Here’s another example of advertising and prices in 1929.
The park eventually grew from bathing resorts to feature everything from water sports, bowling, target shooting, a dance pavilion, roller skating and even a mule-drawn merry-go-round, according to Lagoon.
Lagoon’s first roller coaster, originally named “The Lagoon Dipper,” opened in 1921. The park has opened nine more since.
The Toboggan Slide was added three years later, and about a dozen attractions were added in 1925 and 1926 as the park expanded.
During World War II and still in the midst of its popularity, Lagoon shut down in 1943 and wouldn’t reopen until 1946.
The 1953 fire
Lagoon has not been able to avoid natural disaster over the past century, and none more devastating to the park than a fire that erupted in November 1953 that destroyed parts of the park.
Flames rose more than 300 feet, according to Handy. Several fire agencies were called to fight the blaze, but high winds and minimal water levels made fighting the fire difficult. In the end, the east portion of the roller coaster, the park’s Fun House, dance pavilion and a cafe were destroyed.
However, the park reopened on time the next year.
That wasn’t the only natural disaster.
In August 1923, seven people died from flooding in Farmington Canyon. The floods reached the park and damaged its roller coaster and other attractions. The park was closed for about a week.
Here’s a photo of a mudslide that hit the park in 1983.
Here’s a photo of a brush fire in 2007 that reached close to the park.
A music hotspot
A look at Lagoon’s summer musician alumni in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s is much like looking into the list of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1968 alone, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Janis Joplin played at Lagoon. The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash and The Beach Boys also played at Lagoon. The Beach Boys even mentioned the park in a song.
