No living person likely remembers the Forest Park Highlands of Bohumir Kryl and his famous 50-piece Bohemian Band or recalls skating the roof garden rink as Cavallo’s Band played. But people remember the Comet, looking a lot like it did in this undated photo, probably snapped in the early ’50s. They remember sitting in the backseat of a Buick, watching the silhouette of the Comet flash by on the highway. They remember riding all 85 feet of it; they remember the tunnel. They remember that there were two parks: the day park of checkered picnic blankets and the nickelodeon and the merry-go-round, and the night park of flickering lights and sweaty teenagers and dark corners and smoking concessionaires. A night park where you stood in line for the roller coaster, watching the mosquitoes wobbling around the neon. A night park that left you with the feeling of standing in front of the funhouse mirror even when you weren’t. A place where even the cotton candy felt eerie. Then, in 1963, it all burned down, leaving nothing but the skeleton of the Comet, quiet and dark but still catching your eye as you drove down the highway.
Great Harvest Bread Co.’s Maplewood location to close after 25 years
Franchisees Steve and Alecia Jawor are retiring, the independently operated Kirkwood location remains open.
