1928 The first Pontchartrain Beach at Spanish Fort

1928 The first Pontchartrain Beach at Spanish Fort src="/clientimages/40334/Abyyears/1928pbatspanishfort.jpg">

The first Pontchartrain Beach opened in 1928, across Bayou St. John from the
old Spanish Fort on filled land newly reclaimed from the Lake by the Orleans
Levee Board. The 'Old Beach' featured a boardwalk, a bath house and rides. But
the hard times of the Depression hit the new amusement park hard, in spite of
improvements (including a seawall to replace the boardwalk and a vehicular
bridge over Bayou St. John) made by the Batt family, which took over its
operation in 1933. In 1938, when development (with the help of the WPA) of Lake
Vista began just next door, the Batts took advantage of the opportunity to move
the park farther east along the lakefront to Milneburg, and the 'Old Beach' was
demolished. This photograph of the entrance to the park was taken on March 7,
1939, shortly before demolition began. Source: href="http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/july2001/2jul01.htm">http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/july2001/2jul01.htm

1928 The first Pontchartrain Beach at Spanish Fort

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