At the Beach… At the Beach…

 



Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park located in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was founded by Harry J. Batt Sr. and later managed and owned by his sons, Harry J. Batt Jr. and John A. Batt, the wonderful father of two dear friends John “Jay” A. Batt and his younger brother, the actor Bryan Batt.


The beach itself was the result of a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s that shipped in sand from Horn Island, Mississippi, to build a 21-acre site that offered access to the lake and room for an amusement park.


While the original Pontchartrain Beach pavilion opened on Saturday, June 30, 1928, and where it remained for the next eleven years, most New Orleanians remember when Pontchartrain Beach opened its doors to locals and the rest of the world on Sunday, June 18, 1939. That location sat at the lake end of Elysian Fields Avenue, where the University of New Orleans Research & Technology Parks sits today.


Pontchartrain Beach offered something for everyone, for kids, young lovers and families alike. Pontchartrain Beach included a beach with

a large Art Deco style bathhouse and swimming pools, amusement rides, a kiddie area and concession stands. The park featured live music concerts, including many local musicians, as well as beauty pageants, miniature golf, and water acts. Just outside the entrance gates was the Bali Hai Tiki-style restaurant.


While it was before my time, a young man from Tupelo, Mississippi name Elvis Presley performed here on Thursday, August 9, 1956 to thousands of excited screaming kids.


In the summers of 1972 and 1973, I would often carpool with my J.Q. Adams Middle School friends to walk the length of Pontchartrain Beach, back and forth, primarily with the goal of looking for the girls in my class. We paid a POP (pay one price) entrance fee of $2.50 and hung out for hours, just walking and socializing with girls from Adams, as well as girls from other schools in both Jefferson and Orleans Parishes. If I was lucky, I would meet a pretty girl who was both brave and willing enough to ride with me in the Haunted House, mostly because it was dark and the perfect ride to show her I could protect her, but primarily because I wanted to get a kiss. It always worked. And sometimes we would go on the other rides, as well.


In addition to the Haunted House (designed and built by Mr. Mardi Gras himself, Blaine Kern), the other rides that I most enjoyed were The Wild Maus, The Paratrooper and, of course, The Zephyr.


An important historical note: When it was originally opened, Pontchartrain Beach was racially segregated. Louisiana’s African American population enjoyed their own Lincoln Beach as a popular spot from 1954 until it closed in 1964. The successful desegregation of Pontchartrain Beach in 1964 led to a rapid decline of business at Lincoln Beach, which closed soon after.


While Pontchartrain Beach closed following a gala event on September 23, 1983, the last day of “Public Admittance” was September 5th, 1983.


The hand-painted carousel horses were donated by Harry J. Batt Jr. and John A. Batt to New Orleans City Park, of which Jay Batt is cur- rently the president of the board. It was Harry Batt that was responsible for the design and building of Story Land in City Park, in the 1950s, in honor of his father John Batt.


At the beach... at the beach...

At Pontchartrain Beach... 

You’ll have the time of your life...

And it’s all within reach...


You’ll meet some pretty girls...

As they do…

Their baton twirls...

At Pontchartrain, Pontchartrain Beach...


At the beach... at the beach...

At Pontchartrain Beach... 

You’ll have the time of your life...

And it’s all within reach...


You’ll meet some handsome boys... 

They’ll play the games…

And win you toys...

At Pontchartrain, Pontchartrain Beach...


At the beach... at the beach...

At Pontchartrain Beach... 

You’ll have the time of your life...

And it’s all within reach...


You’ll get scared in The Haunted House...

Lose your mind…

Riding The Wild Maus...

At Pontchartrain, Pontchartrain Beach…


© 2022 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

My Wonder Years: A Book

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