Through the last hundred years, the state of Ohio has had a high concentration of amusement parks located outside its towns and cities. The numbers peaked in the 1920s, and have steadily decreased since that time. Amusement parks represent a unique period in a community's history, usually one of economic prosperity, and are threatened by large, corporate-owned parks and low attendance.This creative project studies Ohio's amusement parks. It traces the broad history of amusement parks from their roots in Europe to early American influence such as the World's Columbian Exposition and Coney Island in New York. The project also focuses on park development within the state of Ohio, and discusses the physical patterns that emerged out of the amusement parks, as well as the positive and negative social patterns that have surfaced and their impact today. The project suggests further areas of research needed for amusement parks, as well as steps that may help preserve those that are threatened.The project also includes an inventory of all known amusement parks located in Ohio throughout the state's history. The inventory includes the location, dates of operation, and attractions at the parks. It also categorizes parks according to the varieties found in Ohio. / Department of Architecture