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I have yet to research the various Amusement Parks/Resorts on this lake if any evidence can still be found. Please also CLICK HERE to go to the Long Branch Amusement Park page..the longest lasting park....

The following was submitted by an area resident but was minus credits. A local environmental organization ?

It is hard to realize today that polluted Onondaga Lake once was home to seven resorts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lakeview Point became the location for the first hotel in 1872, and later was the site of White City built in 1906 by the Syracuse, Lakeshore and Northern trolley company. In the late 1800s, the Iron Pier was the gateway to the west shore resorts. Steamboats carried passengers from the pier to the resorts for a fare of 25 cents. By the end of the 1890s, the Syracuse, Lakeshore and Northern Railway provided a busy trolley schedule, bringing patrons from Clinton Square to White City in just 12 minutes, for a fare of five cents. Just before reaching White City, the trolley would pass by the Syracuse Steam Yacht Club, built out on wooden pilings. A 1906 postcard captured the moment with this message: "Gee Whiz" How we did whiz along here. By 1899 the trolley company had built the Rustic Theater at Maple Bay, which hosted vaudeville acts and special events such as The Wedding of the Century, attended by thousands. Each resort had its own unique character and appeal. Rockaway Beach was famous for 25-cent duck dinners and as headquarters for ice boating enthusiasts. White City, modeled after the Chicago Columbian Exposition, had a popular 'Shoot the Chute' water ride. Long Branch, still popular today as a picnic area, was a favorite for both picnics and its variety of amusements, including the carousel that is now the showpiece of Carousel Mall. Pleasant Beach had the usual open-air dance pavilion and bowling alleys, but other popular attractions were a dare-devil hot air balloon act, and its famous $5 all-day clambakes. Pleasant Beach was also the longest existing resort until it was torn down to make way for Route 690. Today federal, state and local leaders are trying to create a renaissance for Onondaga Lake as a recreational playground after decades of use as a dumping ground for industrial and municipal waste. The west shore, once home to hotels and resorts, now is a tranquil wooded area with a bike and walking path. Few remains of the resorts can still be found. The Syracuse Yacht Club opened in 1898 on the west shore of Onondaga Lake close to today's Route 690.

One of the longest-lasting resorts was Long Branch Amusement Park on the east shore of Onondaga Lake, which operated from 1882 to 1938. Glittering White City offered entertainment, dancing, a scenic railroad and many amusements, including the fast ride to splash down in the water-filled lagoon.

THIS C/C/P 'excerpt' from a book being sold;;;;;

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ONONDAGA LAKE RESORTS

by Donald L. Thompson

From Chapter 3 / White City:

"During the opening day, the attendance reached 41,203 by 9:00 PM, just before the fireworks display. In a Syracuse Post Standard article the day after the opening, it was reported that, `the transportation capacity of the Syracuse, Lakeshore and Northern Railroad was overtaxed. Every car leaving the courthouse was packed. People were jammed in the vestibules of the closed cars and the running boards and fenders of the open ones. In a number of cases the roofs of the cars were occupied. One car had 211 people, according to the trolley conductor. Crowds were greeted by the fifty-member Kilties Band from Canada during the first week, playing at the bandstand just beyond the arched entrance. Seats were available for up to 5,000 people. In June, the Duss Band was scheduled to appear, and later in the summer John Phillip Sousas band was slated to entertain the crowds at White City. The west side of the grounds included a dance pavilion 100 by 150 feet, with music furnished by a large orchestra. Adjoining the dance pavilion was a theater of oriental design that could seat 500 people. . . . White City included many amusement rides, but the most popular ride was the Shoot-the-Chutes ride that was found just beyond the entrance gate, in the center of the park grounds. The Post Standard on May 31, 1906, reported, `the center of attraction was the Shoot-the-Chutes, and the artificial lake into which the boats plunged was always surrounded by a crowd." There seems to be a gap in the knowledge of many people currently living in Central New York regarding the rich history of the west shore of Onondaga Lake. A new book, The Golden Age of Onondaga Resorts by Donald Thompson of Clay, brings to life an era that should not be forgotten when great resorts lined the west shore during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Four of the seven largest resorts were amusement parks with an amazing variety of attractions, including roller coasters, carousels, dance pavilions, shooting galleries, and bowling alleys. Others featured picnic groves beneath majestic maple and chestnut trees. Many people are familiar with the history of the east shore of Onondaga Lake, thanks to the recreation of a 1650's French Mission to the Iroquois and the Salt Museum. It was the west shore that was developed as a resort community when the east shore was covered with marshland and thousands of deteriorating solar salt sheds. Today only the Haley West Shore Trail crosses the area and the surrounding land has reverted to a mostly natural state. Markers erected to indicate the resorts' locations have fallen victim to vandals. In this book the author portrays what the west shore resorts were like about 100 years ago and describes each resort in detail based on contemporary news accounts, interviews, historical postcards, and library and historical society archives. Each resort had its own unique character and appeal. For example, White City rivaled Coney Island with its amusement rides, and Rockaway Beach catered to the sporting set. Some were backed financially by trolley companies that offered promotions to increase ridership to the resorts.

While a marina and a yacht club exist on the east shore of Onondaga Lake today, the original yacht club, a focus of much social activity around the turn of the century, was on the west shore. Most Syracusans today pass along the west shore on Rte. 690 to and from the city, or visiting the New York State Fairgrounds, never realizing they are driving close to the last of the resorts, demolished in 1954 for the Rte. 690 right-of-way.

The White City amusement park was also on the southwestern shore. It was a tourist destination during Syracuse's golden age of resorts, opened May 30, 1906. With 30 different rides, it was Syracuse's most spectacular amusement park. On its opening day, over 41,000 people attended. While daily attendance at the New York State Fair can top 100,000, the earlier figure is impressive considering people of the era lacked long-range personal transportation, so visitors from outside the immediate area had to travel by railroads, which had limited capacity. Unfortunately, White City's popularity dwindled after the first two years and the park struggled for a few more years before closing in 1915. Another resort from the era was Iron Pier, which stood from 1890-1907 on a strip of land on the southern shore of Onondaga Lake. Today, the land separates Carousel Center's parking lot from the lake.