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Ask Chris: The City Explained

Question:  Was there really a kiddie land where the Beverly Center stands? 
Chris:  During the early ’40s, a traveling circus rented the site at the corner of Beverly and La Cienega, and it left a few amusement rides behind. An enterprising fellow named Dave Bradley leased the land from the Beverly Oil Company and launched Beverly Park in 1945, adding a Ferris wheel, a tiny roller coaster, and my favorite, a dark ride called MoonsVille. On weekends Bradley’s pal Walt Disney would bring his kids and dream of opening his own park. The energy crisis of the early ’70s added pressure to pump more oil. The park was closed in 1974, and the Beverly Center went up a decade later.

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Published August 2008
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