Luna: Pittsburgh's Original Lost Kennywood

by Brian Butko

Luna follows the intertwined stories of two very different amusement parks in suburban Pittsburgh: Kennywood in West Mifflin and Luna Park in North Oakland. Butko takes readers on a rollicking trip to the rowdy picnic spot first called Kenny’s Grove, then we meet the Ingersoll family of inventors who go from building rides at Kennywood to creating its chief competitor, Luna.

All but forgotten a century later, Luna saw its legacy revived in 1995 when Kennywood Park opened Lost Kennywood, an area modeled after Luna and other “world’s fair”-style parks. Kennywood and its competitor now co-exist in their own unique way.

“Butko does it again with this astounding collection! From baby incubators to lion attacks, Luna Park’s hidden history is at long last revealed.”
~ John Schalcosky, Founder of Odd Pittsburgh

Genres: History, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2017

About the author

My 2024 resolution is to become more active on Goodreads! My most recent book is about Isaly’s Dairy and its Klondike bar. I’m also quite proud of “Luna: Pittsburgh’s Original Lost Kennywood” and “Kennywood: Behind the Screams.” Other books explore diners, roadside attractions, and the Lincoln Highway.

I’m working now on a book about the daring women and men of Bettis Airfield and other early Pittsburgh aviation stories. Big Kennywood book #3 is also underway, and I’m 95% finished with my first novel, a paranormal mystery inspired by a nearby quarry and surrounding woods.

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read about Oakland's Luna Park in Pittsburgh. A ton of detail, a ton of photos, and lots of information for theme park enthusiasts.

At times I wish the prose read a little better. It felt choppy and pieced together, which made it hard to sometimes continue reading, even though the book is relatively short. Overall, a solid book, I just think it needs some polishing up.

[Jason Rosenstock · Rating 3 out of 5]

visually stunning--loved the graphics, the layout. The prose was a bit choppy--lots of little detail and not enough big picture discussion for my tastes. More iconography than history. But still quite glad to have read it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

And here, right where we stand this evening, was Luna park.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and in return I would give an honest review. When I entered this giveaway, I thought this was a fictional book about life at the fair. However, when the book came to my home, I realized this was a nonfiction book about an amusement park in Pittsburgh, which was a surprise. However, it was very informative about an area I have never been to despite living in PA. I also loved all the pictures, so you could see what the amusement park used to look like and the people that help build it, along with the old advertisements that were seen for the park. This is a perfect book if you want to learn the unique history of a park and an area.

Personally, I like historic events, but I dislike amusement parks, so this was not a fun read for me, however, I felt like the author did an amazing job with recreating the history, along with documents from that time period to give the reader a better understanding of that era.