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Thanks for this site.I remember being 12yrs old and going to Nat park with neighborhood friends. Sounds of Sarah Vaughan's 'Broken Hearted Melody', Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans" and many other songs. Nat park had an awesome sound system. The memories are great. Thanks Again.

Many fond memories of visiting the park with my Father and Brothers. I especially remember the bumper cars - they don't build 'em like that anymore! The Jack Rabbit was really cool and my Dad always reminded us to stay seated and hold on to our hats - he was the only one with a hat and as far as staying seated - my brothers and I jumped around a bit. I was a great park!

My Mom (Minnie) & Dad (Ted) had a Photo Booth next to the Car Track and across from the Shooting Gallery where my brother (Morris) used to work. The rifles used were 22's shorts and my brother taught me how to shoot there and used me as a "Draw" as I became an expert at 5-6 years old, barely able to look over the counter!

All this was from 1947-1950 (My memory) I loved the Carrousel and if you got the "Golden Brass Ring" you got a free ride and the steel rings you throw into the open mouth of the clown as you passed by. I got pretty good at that too.

I rode ALL the rides except the Octopus which I still don't like (Age 69). LOL

Fond memories made there. Thank you "Natpark". I still remember Mac McNight from the park to!

I rode my bike here a lot.
Mom and Dad danced while me and my brother played in the corner floor too. I am 64 and my brother is 68..

We will never forget the seals, train, nut house, fun in the dark, and especially the Jack Rabbit!

I was born in Spokane in 1961, so my memories of Nat Park are limited yet vivid.
I was separated from Mom and Dad for what was likely around 4 to 5 minutes, but I was terrified. A lovely lady picked me up to comfort me and I screamed and kicked her.
I wasn't allowed to ride on the Jack Rabbit, but being "lost" for a few moments was thrill enough.
Nat Park was an big deal to my older brothers and sisters so the collective sense of positive excitement about the place lingers in my psyche.

I can remember going to Nat Park as a child it was the first time I had ever rode a roller coaster. I look at pictures and does not seem like it was so long ago, my great memorys of my grandparents.

Natatorium Park is one of my best memories of my childhood & Spokane. I adored that Merry go Round & still ride it when I come to Spokane to visit.

I spent many summer days at Nat Park in the 50's and 60's. My dad would load all the neighborhood kids in the car and go to the park. These were some of the happiest days of my life. Natatorium Park was wonderful. It was better than Disneyland or any other park. I would ride the carosel, grab the rings hoping for a gold one. I loved this place.

Nat Park was a favorite picnic site for my family all through the 1940s [before me], 1950s and early 1960s. We occupied several tables on the picnic area up the hill. We tried to get outside tables so that my mom and my aunt could spread out a blanket nearby for us kids. We could play and the blanket meant we were a few feet closer to "the rides."

Of course, "the rides" were the top priority after lunch was finished but the tables had to be cleaned up first. We had enough older family members that stayed in the picnic area to keep an eye on our boxes and baskets, but theft was seldom a problem. I can only remember one or two Spokesman-Review stories about thefts from Natatorium Park.

Finally, we would run down the hill - nearly 10 of us if a couple of friends came along for the day. I enjoyed the diesel train [that's my hobby] and also the battery cars, the rocket ships, the Carrousel, Fun in the Dark, and several trips on the Bumper Cars. Finally, all the rest of the tickets went for Jack Rabbit rides - 23 or 24 trips almost continuous when we managed to get an extra set of free 20-ride tickets at a Kaiser picnic.

Even when we didn't have that many tickets, Nat was fun. There was the zoo, the sea lion pool, and other places to explore, including the street car right-of-way higher up on the hill. We could spend an hour on the couples' glider swing which was at the bottom of the picnic area hill.

Other times my dad and I came alone. Once was for a visit from kids' TV star Sky King and his airplane. A couple of other times we helped out at a vendor booth run by the Eagles for a Shriners' convention and a Youth Eagle event.

Last but not least - the Fourth of July Fireworks. [Take note of the day I wrote this.] We had to slowly hike up the hill after a busy afternoon of Nat Park rides because dad had driven up and parked the car at a good viewing spot.

[I hadn't heard of this website before this week. It needs more publicity.]

I lived at Fairchild AFB as a child in the early 1960's and remember going to Nat Park. Always remember the carousel and grabbing the rings. Had my first corn dog at the Nat.