Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/514590
70 | JULY 2015 nshoremag.com in-depth PLACES into its history and discover a place so notable it deserves respect for its staying power. THE OPENING "The Willows," as it is generally called, is a 35-acre waterfront prop- erty located at the tip of the Salem peninsula, and named for the Euro- pean white willow trees that were planted in 1801 on behalf of patients at the nearby "contagious disease hospital." (They still grace the lawn today, two centuries later.) This "pest house" was destroyed by fire in 1848, and the area was subsequently designated a city park. By 1877, the Naumkeag Street Railway Company was running horse-drawn trolleys to The Willows and had acquired land to build an amusement park. Area residents flocked to The Willows to enjoy the once-famous "shore dinners," test their skills at the shooting gallery, and roller- skate at the Willows Pavilion, an architecturally unusual structure built largely of recycled materials from the Siege of Paris Pavilion at a Boston exposition. It held a theater, a roller-skating rink, and a 300-seat second-floor restaurant. In the rear tower, a camera obscura projected scenes from the surrounding area onto a table in a darkened room. Adding to the park's popularity were special events that included fireworks displays, music and theatre programs, high-wire acts, and hot air balloon rides. "The Salem Evening News, which tracked happenings at the park in a regular column, reported The Willows attracted 5,000 visitors in a single day," according to Salem historian Jim McAllister. THE AREA In 1904, there were three seasonal hotels operating in the Juniper Point residential neighborhood ad- jacent to The Willows: The Atlantic The willow trees are over 200 years old. The pavilion held a 300-seat restaurant. The Willows once featured a miniature roller coaster. photograph by Sarah Jordan McCaffery (top), courtesy of Jim McAllister (middle and bottom)