How much does a typical day at Seabreeze cost? Here’s a breakdown
The park is open on weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
It certainly wasn’t the largest “amusement park” in Rochester’s history, but Kiddie Land at Seneca Park Zoo offered plenty of thrills for young children during its run.
Kiddie Land had a handful of rides for children, such as a boat ride and a jet plane ride. It was part of a “Children’s Zoo Annex” that opened in 1952 and soon after included a petting zoo.
In an apparent gesture of goodwill, the original owners of Kiddie Land donated several animals to the zoo, including at least one that baffled many visitors. The rides were eventually eliminated – some say abruptly – as the zoo shifted its focus from recreation to education, if you will.
Kiddie Land was located near the new 1.5 million cubic foot tropical complex being built at the Seneca Park Zoo. Wendy Crowley Durocher was one of many Rochester-area people who reflected on the site in Facebook posts.
“I remember the boats, but I loved the red, blue and yellow planes that took off and spun around,” she wrote. “They even had guns on each end that made noises when you shot at the kids in the next plane behind you or in front of you. My, how times have changed.”
Viola Ryan and Jack Gordon were the original owners of Kiddie Land, said Maureen Whalen, a longtime zoo docent who published “A History of Seneca Park Zoo” in April 2020. According to newspaper reports from 1952, Gordon was a car salesman and Ryan was a Kodak employee.
The rides may have been an attempt to “spice up” the zoo, which opened in 1894. At the time, Rochester had another, less exotic zoo in Durand-Eastman Park, which opened in 1912 and closed 50 years later.
Whalen said it was unusual to have new rides in 1952 because there was still a shortage of the necessary materials due to World War II. Newspaper accounts reported on Kiddie Land as a big deal.
“Seneca Kiddie-Land at the Seneca Park Zoo is a place of fun and enjoyment for the little ones, with the safest and most entertaining rides in the world,” said a story in the July 1953 issue of Brockport. Republic-Democrat“A true wonderland with rides such as horse-drawn carriage rides, rocket ship rides, boat rides and the new Army Tank Ride with miniature tanks and realistic-sounding machine guns.”
As Crowley Durocher wrote, “How times have changed.”
That includes the prices. Kiddie Land signs advertise rides for nine cents apiece, which was cheap even then. There’s no indication why the owners didn’t just round up to ten cents.
Of course, the Seneca Park Zoo has changed its spatial design several times since its opening.
A 1952 Democrat and Chronicle The story mentioned that Kiddie Land was located in a tree-shaded area next to a path that led from the zoo to the park’s picnic area. The story also mentioned the “Kiddie Zoo Annex,” a fenced-in area that was home to pairs of deer, goats, barbary sheep, and smaller animals such as lambs, chickens, and rabbits.
Sue Erb of Irondequoit posted on Facebook about going to the zoo with her grandparents, going on “four or five little rides” and visiting the petting zoo. “When you walked by… there were llamas,” she wrote. “You had to be careful not to stand too close or they would spit!”
According to media reports, in 1952, Viola Ryan and Jack Gordon donated a sea lion to replace one that had died at the zoo a few weeks earlier. Two months later, they donated an anteater named “Schnozzie” to the zoo.
A Democrat and Chronicle The story called it “the first such strange-looking creature the Rochester Zoo has ever owned.” The story quoted then-zoo director Fred Strassle as saying, “I’m going to have to put in a few extra hours a week to answer all the questions I get (about the animal).”
The animal donations continued for years.
In 1956, according to news reports, two African leopards were purchased with donations from Kiddie Land. In 1967 Democrat and Chronicle reported that Kiddie Land had donated two vultures – or, as they were called in the story, “exotic South American garbage men.”
Aside from charity, Kiddie Land is best known for its thrill rides for children. Larry Gould of Gates said, “My kids loved them. The boat was the favorite! On weekends, you had to wait in line (to get on the ride).”
The contract between Kiddie Land and Monroe County, which manages the zoo, expired in 1980 and was not renewed, said Whalen, who is also a member of the Greece Historical Society. Authorities were in the process of restoring the zoo.
Former zoo director Larry Sorel said Kiddie Land no longer fit the direction the zoo was heading.
“This was at a time when zoos were moving away from their role as purely recreational places,” says Sorel, who joined Seneca Park Zoo in 1997. “It was becoming inappropriate for the zoo’s educational and conservation mission … (and) by 1980, the rides were really in dire need of repair and maintenance.”
The opening of the tropical complex, together with the new zoo entrance and the educational conference center, is planned for 2025.
Alan Morrell is a former reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle and a freelance writer in the Rochester area.
This is an updated version of a story originally published in July 2016 as part of the Whatever Happened To series.
