My roller-coaster-loving friend suggested the theme of an amusement park for one of Paco's Mexican menus. "Paco's Park" features the "Paco the Pelican" logo in front of rides, cable cars, and colorful park artifacts. Old-fashioned amusement parks, which are not "theme parks" or planned layouts for fun-seekers, have mostly disappeared. An amusement park would have not only rides but a midway full of food booths, games, and trinket vendors. There would be some buildings which housed indoor amusements such as pinball machines and arcade games, as well as smaller rides scaled for kids. The seaside avenue featured more vendors as well as restaurants. The beach was across the street from the park and the sea was ever-present. The smell of delicious greasy food permeated the area, better than just tacos.
While my friend rode the coaster, I took many photographs and made many drawings, and the photographs were the image source for this tribute to the classic amusement park. It's all gone now.
Markers on posterboard, 21" x 13", winter 1979-80.
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