Rocky Point Amusement Park is legendary in Rhode Island history for so many reasons. It was the place to be every summer with rides, games, concerts, and the largest shore dinner hall in the world. It had everything you could want. Rhode Islanders loved this place, but it closed for good in 1996 after nearly 150 years in business… and almost 30 years later we still never stop talking about it.

Filmed/Edited/Narrated by Jason Allard

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Drone: DJI Mini 3 Pro | Fly More Plus
Main Camera: Sony A7S III | Sony f/1.2 50mm
Editing: Final Cut Pro w/ custom plugins

Sources:
You Must Be This Tall | https://rb.gy/10f3gd
Images of America: Rocky Point Park | https://rb.gy/mvkc9a
David Bettencourt | https://rb.gy/3bhg1q
Amusement Parks & Beyond | https://rb.gy/wc14d0
LostMidway | https://rb.gy/nzaj4t
Irene Campbell | https://rb.gy/zomuuw
Providence Journal's Escaped Monkeys Article | https://rb.gy/utfhkr

Music By:
Dexter Yu | https://rb.gy/exmuzo
Ayoji | https://rb.gy/84oauc
ONE | https://rb.gy/zavtua
DotBeats | https://rb.gy/t9mq5g

Today, Rocky Point has mostly returned to nature, and it’s hard to imagine a loud, bustling amusement park once stood right here. It’s wild seeing it like this, considering Rocky Point once hosted famous bands, a president, generations of visitors, and most importantly ME in 1994.

Also, with Rocky Point Park being on the list of abandoned Rhode Island icons, it continues the tradition of most places from my childhood being abandoned, like my old middle school…the largest on the east coast of America, or the baseball stadium I went to every summer to watch the Pawtucket Red Sox, and even another amusement park from my childhood, the Enchanted Forest.
But today we’re talking about a place near and dear to everyone in Rhode Island. A place whose history stretches from the 1840s all the way to 1996, with a lot happening in between. Welcome to the abandoned Rocky Point Amusement Park.

Rocky Point Park's history dates back to 1847, evolving from a modest resort to a sprawling amusement park that attracted visitors from far away lands like Massachusetts. Throughout its existence, the park underwent many transformations, from changes in ownership to devastating natural disasters like the Hurricane of 1938 and Hurricane Carol in 1954.

One of the park's enduring legacies is its iconic attractions, including the Rocky Point Clam Dinner, which drew crowds with its legendary feasts. Over the years, new rides and amenities were added, cementing Rocky Point's reputation as a premier destination for entertainment and leisure.

Rocky Point always persevered, though, thanks to dedicated owners like Conrad Ferla, who became synonymous with the park during his tenure. For decades Rocky Point was like having Disney World in our backyard. Rides like The Corkscrew, Musik Express, Free Fall, and Skyliner were hits with visitors, along with concerts like Beastie Boys or AC/DC at the Palladium? Hot damn.

Okay, if Rocky Point was so huge, then why was it abandoned?

In May of 1990 the failing Bank of New England demanded payment of nearly 5 million dollars in mortgages that Rocky Point’s owners had taken out on the park and several unrelated businesses. Money that wasn’t owed yet and that the owners didn’t have on hand.

Scrambling to obtain other financing in 1991, the owners of Rocky Point quickly entered into a lending relationship with Fairway Capital Corporation, where Fairway loaned Rocky Point $5,395,000 at 15.5% interest per year over twenty years. That’s $900,000 per year in interest alone. Damn, they’d have to sell like a million clam cakes to break even, which… they didn’t.

In October of 1995, a reorganization plan was approved by a federal judge who authorized a restructuring of the debt. The plan allowed the owners to either operate the park on a razor thin budget or liquidate it and sell off the park’s assets.  Viewing the business as non-viable, the owners chose the second option.

In the years following its closure, Rocky Point stood abandoned, a haunting reminder of its former glory. Yet, in 2014, the City of Warwick reclaimed the land, transforming it into a state park, preserving its natural beauty for future generations to enjoy.

While the amusement park may never return, the memories of Rocky Point endure, immortalized in documentaries, books, and the shared recollections of those who experienced its magic firsthand. As Rhode Islanders reminisce about their time at Rocky Point, they hold onto the cherished memories that will forever remain a part of the state's history.

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