Imagine a theme park that surveyed the history of the United States while being shaped like the continental United States. How could that not excite you? In the ’60s, the US of A was all the rage in the US, and C.V. Wood saw the hype as an opportunity to capitalize on patriotism. The disgraced Disney Park manager somehow landed a 13-million dollar investment from one of New York’s most prolific real estate investors to build the park. Unfortunately, much like his previous attempts at park design, Wood’s endeavor would prove a monumental failure. Freedomland met the same fate as the trash in the landfill on which it stood.
Who is C.V. Wood
The founder of Freedomland is almost as enigmatic as the park itself. Even his name is a thing of mystery. C.V. Wood has been tough to stand for Cornelius Vanderbilt, Commodore Vanderbilt, and even C for nothing V for nothing. Most commonly, however, he went by his nickname Woodsy.
Early in his career, Woodsy managed to work himself into jobs in which he didn’t belong—jumping from SRI to VP of Disneyland without having a single verifiable credential. His lack of credentials showed a rocky launch of the original Disneyland Park. The failed launch gave Walt Disney enough reason to fire Wood. However, this was far from his final park job. Woodsy worked on various startup theme parks before taking on the most ridiculous theme park of all time, Freedomland.
The Birth of Freedomland USA
Much like he did throughout his entire career, Woodsy convinced William Zeckendorf that he was more talented than he was. Armed with a $13 million investment C.V. began construction on an 85 square acre park in the shape of the continental United States. In theory, the park would take guests on an educational tour through the history of the US. However, the attractions in the park were far from historically accurate.
Controversial Attractions
From day one, the park was no stranger to controversy. Contractors built the park on an old landfill. Unfortunately, construction crews did not give the asphalt in the park enough time to cure, so on opening day, springs from mattresses began poking through the pavement. It wasn’t just construction woes, though. There were actual problematic rides.
The Chicago-themed district of the park was set in the era of the Chicago Fire. Park designers created a ride that featured actual fires and allowed children to be part of the firefight. As if that weren’t enough, guests were encouraged to ridicule the Irish milk maiden. Proved to be false decades earlier, the milk maiden theory stated that a local milk maiden knocked over an oil lamp to start the fire in her barn.
In the San Francisco district, Freedomland park goers had the opportunity to experience the San Francisco earthquake. That’s right; two major disasters were recreated as rides at Freedomland. These rides, coupled with a tornado-themed ride, poor history, and blatantly racist sentiments throughout the park, garnered some negative feedback from critics.
The Fall of Freedomland
Needless to say, the park didn’t last long. In its first year, the park failed to meet minimum revenue requirements. Over the next couple of years, the woes continued for the park. Finally, in its final year of operation, the owner group resolved to open the park only on the weekends to conserve funding. However, many guests missed the memo and showed up while the park was closed. So to capitalize on demand, the owners opened the park for tours only and charged guests a quarter to view the park while not operational.
Conclusion
Freedomland USA was an absolute failure. This venture had everything from horrible history to poor construction to mismanagement of funds. But what more could you expect from a lifelong fraud like C.V. Wood? Yet, surprisingly, Wood did go on to accomplish something rather incredible without any lies or significant failures. Woodsy managed to purchase the London Bridge and move it to Arizona. Well, he was on the team that moved the London Bridge.
Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
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