Carowinds

Images of America: North Carolina

by Scott Rutherford

Located near Charlotte, Carowinds has long been considered the "Thrill Capital of the Southeast!"

Inspired by a trip to Disneyland in 1957, Hall envisioned an amusement park for the citizens of the Carolinas. The brainchild of Earl Patterson Hall, a self-made businessman and real estate developer, Carowinds is an exciting day for children and adults alike. In 1973, after four years of planning and construction, Carowinds opened to the public on a large site that straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Throughout the 1970s, visitors enjoyed rides such as the Witchdoctor and White Lightnin'. Currently, the park features rides, shows, and attractions for all, including Intimidator, the tallest and fastest coaster in the Southeast. Carowinds showcases the rich history of this Carolina amusement park celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 3, 2013

Reviews

[Lesley Looper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about the history of Carowinds. It's been a number of years since I've been, but I have some fond memories of going. The roller coaster history was especially interesting to me. I recall and liked that the NC/SC state line was marked inside the park.

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spring of 1973, I listened to the radio as E. Pat Hall welcomed the opening day crowd to his brand new theme park called Carowinds.

In 1957, E. Pat Hall visited Disneyland and began to dream of building a theme park in his home state of North Carolina. His eventual park, Carowinds, opened in 1973. Straddling the state line between North and South Carolina, the park has brought thrills to millions of visitors for almost 50 years.

I picked this book up since I've lived within 2 hours of Carowinds my entire life. My first visit was as a kid in 1994 (I remember being fascinated by being able to stand in 2 states at once), and I've gone a couple of times as an adult. Each time I've gone the park has seemed entirely different, so I was interested in learning more about its history and the changes over time. This was a fairly good overview of the history and the various iterations the park has gone through over the last 4 decades.

The book was published in 2013, so there have been many changes in the past 8 years that are not included here. But it was great to learn more about a local landmark. There was a lot here I was not aware of before.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really interesting to see how this park has changed over the years.

[George Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at the Carowinds thrill park situated between North and South Carolina. Wonderful historical photos show the timeline of the park. Scott Rutherford does a great job of detailing the park's history. This edition ends with the introduction of the Intimidator.

Fans of Carowinds will enjoy it. Theme park fans will be glad to get their hands on this one-of-a-kind resource.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those quickie photography/memory/local history volumes that combines archival shots with identifying paragraphs designed to attract readers who lived in a certain are to undertake a nostalgic stroll. They often are informative and enjoyable; I've read or perused many, and even had some contribution when editors utilized postcards from a collection I helped index years ago. This one wasn't bad, though surely there had to be more interesting photos, and perhaps a few more interesting stories. While Carolinas is no Disney, I had a nice day there once with my boys. But there was on way I was getting on the Intimidator.

[Mica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such great memories!!!!!