KYW Flashback: From Amusement Park To Mall In Willow Grove

WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) - Another major mall was opening in the suburbs. The ceremony included music, free food and all the trappings of modern day America.

Except this time, a KYW reporter remarked on the amusement park art and artifacts, liberally sprinkled among the shops and eateries.

Old timers nostalgically recalled when the site of the Willow Grove Park Mall had been a major amusement park that drew thousands of Philadelphians to its rides and music pavilion every weekend. They came by train and trolley.

The park went back to the dawn of the 20th century.

But times had changed. Bigger and more modern attractions were drawing the crowds and Willow Grove Park passed into fading memories.