Playland Park (Houston, Texas)

Playland Park was an amusement park located in Houston, Texas operating between 1940 and 1967. Louis Slusky opened Playland Park in 1940 at 9200 South Main. It is remembered for its wooden roller coaster, Giant Skyrocket. Texas' first elevated monorail train briefly operated near the park. Next to the park was an adjoining stock-car racetrack known as Playland Speedway. Playland Park closed in 1967.

Playland Park, Houston should not be confused with the Playland Park located in San Antonio, Texas which opened around the same time and had a wooden roller coaster similarly named The Rocket.

Giant Skyrocket
Giant Skyrocket was a wooden roller coaster relocated to Playland Park and opened in September 1941. Originally opened in 1924 at Houston’s former Luna Park, it was billed as the “largest roller coaster in the country" with a reported length of 6600 ft, a height of 110 ft, and a drop of 90 ft. The original construction cost in 1924 was $75,000. The relocation from Luna Park to Playland Park was the last roller coaster project John A. Miller was involved with. Miller died in Houston in 1941 while working on this project.

The roller coaster, which claimed to be the largest in the South, appeared to have been operational until some time between 1962 and 1964. By 1964, the roller coaster was partially removed and no longer operational. This was to make room for a new large building. The remainder of the roller coaster was torn down after the park closed.

Playland Speedway
The park's racetrack opened in 1948. Various races and demolition derbies were held at the track. Local racing talent A. J. Foyt raced there. In 1959, a race car crashed through a fence, killing three people, including Playland Park co-owner Sam Slusky. Within a few years of the crash, the racetrack closed. Many speculate the fatalities contributed to this decision. By 1962, the grandstands were removed, and by 1964, a new building was constructed where the track once stood. The speedway was also known as Playland Park Speedway and Playland Park Stadium.

Closure
The park closed in 1967, just prior to AstroWorld opening in Houston in 1968. The racetrack and roller coaster had ceased operations years prior. By 1973, the land where the park once stood was vacant. Years later it was eventually redeveloped into retail space and apartments.