Sun Valley in the amusement zone at the 1939 NY world’s fair was a truly magical place.
This winter wonderland, one of the largest village concessions in the amusement area features fancy, speed and novelty skating on the disappearing ice rink, tobogganing on a slide with a 45 foot drop, and spectacular leaps from a lofty ski jump. In addition, a toboggan slide 160 feet long comprises several banked turns and thrilling dips. The scene presents a panorama of fir and pine trees amid rock formations that represent the foothills and surrounding mountains, while the illusion of reality is heightened by a 40 foot waterfall cascading down from the topmost cliffs. Visitors are permitted to clamber up the rocks and survey the quaint village beneath them which is Alpine in structure with snow blanketed houses, stores, and the church, clustered around an oval mill pond. Here Liebmann Breweries of Brooklyn sponsor the restaurant facilities Rheingold Inn, Rheingold Terrace and several Rheingold Taverns. A nearby ski jump is reserved for professional skiers, while the mill pond serves as an ice rink with 30 minute shows given 12 times daily in the open air. Music is furnished by a 15 piece orchestra supplemented by a $25,000 pipe organ; wandering musicians, singers and your yodelers performed in the village streets; shops display Alpine novelties and confections; other features include a cuckoo clock tower, and a stork tower with real storks. Here, throughout the summer, a snowstorm is realistically depicted every evening.
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