Amusement Park Rides

“Amusement park rides to me are like kinetic sculptures,” Mr. Staples said. “Especially the vintage rides. They’re beautiful pieces of history — machines you have to keep up, keep painted, put love into. The mentality in America is, ‘This looks rundown, let’s replace it.’ But you learn over time that keeping what you have is what keeps people coming back.”

On inspection day, hearing that I’d grown up in this town, a woman examining a deep fryer asked if I was sad to see the park like this. It was hard to answer, because of course I saw the stillness and decay; but I could also see it just as it was, lit up and full of life.

Article by By Kate Morgan