Norumbega, New England's Finest Amusement Park

Norumbega Park was located along the Charles River in Auburndale, Massachusetts from 1897 until 1963.It was among the best of the “trolley parks” built across the country at the turn of the century to attract streetcar riders on the weekends.  Regarded as "New England's Finest Amusement Park," Norumbega was a real-life magical place to the many thousands of people who visited each summer.
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Amid lush lawns and flowering gardens, Norumbega housed New England’s biggest zoo and its ice-cream loving bear, featured an “iron-jaw” acrobat named Mazie who dangled over the river from a high wire, offered paddle boat and canoe rides, hosted a women’s softball team, and proudly showcased a magnificent carousel and Ferris wheel as well as many other motorized rides. The park was best known  for its Totem Pole Ballroom, which routinely attracted bands like Benny Goodman’s and Tommy Dorsey’s, singers like Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore, and hundreds of couples who danced to their music each weekend. 


Today, most of the land that was once home to Norumbega Park is the site of a large hotel. One field of about thirteen acres, alongside the Charles River, has been set aside as conservation land. Its natural beauty will always be protected. While it, too, carries the name Norumbega Park, it is enjoyed regularly by local residents and their dogs, and is affectionately known as “Dog Park.”

There are many online sites you can visit to learn more about Norumbega and other trolley parks of its kind.
Click here to begin your journey to Norumbega Park!