RSP’s Ladies Rest House Featured on New Blog

The Ladies Rest House in Rock Springs Park has been featured on a new blog all about lost women’s spaces. The blog, called “Lost Womyn’s Space” and hosted by Silverside, is a project to commemorate these lost spaces both old and modern.

The Ladies Rest House was a necessary restroom and break room for women wearing tight-fitting corsets and the only original building from the 1890’s remaining in the park when it closed for good on Labor Day 1970.

The first postcard image above shows the Ladies Rest House as it looked in the 1890’s. In this later colorized postcard of the same view, an artist has removed the pole at center. “Often postcard artists would romanticize images by removing all undesirable features, such as telephone poles, junk yards, background clutter, and sometimes even cars and people by painting or air brushing” (Images of America: Rock Springs Park, p19).

Check out “Lost Womyn’s Space” at http://lostwomynsspace.blogspot.com/2012/05/ladies-rest-house-rock-springs-park.html.




Rare rear view of the Ladies Rest House in 1969.

 

Possibly the last photograph taken of the Ladies Rest House prior to its razing in 1974. Notice the band shell stripped down and and made ready for transport to Chester City Park.



The Band Shell

The Band Shell under construction in 1940. (Courtesy of Tish Hand)

In theater, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or band shell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Shells are most commonly used for orchestras, bands and choirs. The Rock Springs Park band shell was constructed in 1940 and was the only new building constructed during the Robert and Virginia Hand Years (1935 – 1970). It stood at the southern end of the upper park lawn facing north, directly in front of the Ladies Rest House. In 1974 the Band Shell was transported to the Chester City Park, but fell apart soon after. A cinder block amphitheater was constructed in its place.

Rear view of the Band Shell showing the brick structure. Shells are generally made of hard materials because they are designed to absorb as little sound as possible.

The Band Shell shown as it appeared in the park's final season, 1970.



The Band Shell in winter 1969 with the Ladies Rest House (right), Log House (center), and the Dodgem or "Skooter" (left). Notice the camper stored next to the Band Shell.

An outdoor theater-style band shell is the featured set piece in the video "Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House from their 1988 album 'Temple of Low Men', and just like the Rock Springs Park shell, it comes crashing down in the end,

The Band Stand in 1906

This week, I posted an excerpt from The Transit Journal of 1906 describing a walk through Rock Springs Park during the early C.A. Smith Years. The article mentioned a band stand which rested on the hill above the lake.

“The grounds around the lake have been left in their natural state except that walks have been laid out, trees trimmed, and the grounds improved to make the hillside attractive and easy to access without destroying the natural scenery. In the midst of this wooded landscape has been erected the band stand where free band concerts are given by celebrated musical organizations.”
Many are familiar with the band shell (pictured above) which was added in 1940 during The Hand Years. It was the only structure built by Bob Hand. All the other structures were from previous owners, including the Ladies Rest House behind the band shell which was one of the original structures built by J.E. McDonald at the turn of the last century. (Courtesy of Mike West)
I was not familiar with the band stand mentioned in the 1906 article, however. I have examined every commercial postcard image of the park and hundreds of photographs, including many from the very early days of the park, but have not seen a band stand shown or labeled on any of them. This leads me to believe the Rustic House (shown below) must be the band stand. It sat exactly where the band stand mentioned in the article rested – on the hillside above the lake in the wooded area just below the crest of the hill.While postcards only label it as “The Rustic House”, I believe it must have also served as the band stand. Today, many bands play in park gazebos. The Rustic House is quite simply a rough hewn gazebo and would have provided ample room and a roof over the heads of band members.

Rock Springs Park Map

(Click on all images to enlarge)

I hoped to find a map of Rock Springs Park while researching the book, but never came across one in any of the collections folks shared with me. Based on photographic evidence, personal recollections and aerial photos, I was able to map out the park in my mind and used that information to basically take the reader on a guided tour. You may be familiar with the aerial photograph (below) taken around the time the park closed in 1970, but perhaps, like me, you wondered what was housed in each of the buildings. I have created the map above to explain just that.

My son, Christian, drew the map of the park below when I was trying to figure out what was what.

Tish Hand, using the aerial photograph explained what was in each building when she lived above the park’s office building with her husband, Richard Hand, in the late 1960s. Here are some of her notes:

VIRGINIA GARDENS - By the time I got there the KENO hall in Virginia Gardens had become quite popular and filled the park on the nights it ran.

ROCK SPRINGS - The springs were at the back of a mountain and were directly under the fancy building on the midway. They had professional stairs leading to them and were thought to be medicinal way back when.

THE OFFICE - Virginia (Mom and Bammie as the kids knew her) was usually in the office and took care of the medicine room. I still have the moose leg table where the children sat in the medicine room to have their skinned elbows patched up. I lived above the office when Robert C. Hand (my first son) was 2. The roller coaster's curve was only ten foot from my window and roared by on the week-ends.

THE GARAGE - The building closest to the office going down the midway was the garage and storage building. That was a real wonderland. Beside the tractor and the cutter bar that it pulled, there were heaps and stacks of old park and arcade machines. There were pennylodians that you peaked into and turned the handle to see naked ladies dancing about. Lots of others. I'm sure these were resurrected when the park was sold but were just stored back then.

THE LADIES REST HOUSE - The ladies restroom was closed back then and you had to climb up the hill to get there. (That’s probably where the cabin was moved.) The old chain pull toilets were still there with the bowl nearly to the ceiling. Mom used this to store unwanted things and sent me there with Dick to see if there was anything I would like to keep. I still have the items I took. A brass candlestick holder with the handle on the side and a old copper frame which I later put an antique picture into of a little girl praying. I also have a large copper pot that was used to melt candy in for the candied apples. I love it and use it in my living room to collect all of the dog toys.