San Antonio Zoo taking over historic Kiddie Park on Broadway

All horses on the Kiddie Park carousel are hand-carved, with no two horses alike. All horses on the Kiddie Park carousel are hand-carved, with no two horses alike. Photo: René A. Guzman /Staff Photo: René A. Guzman /Staff Image 1 of / 63 Caption Close San Antonio Zoo taking over historic Kiddie Park on Broadway 1 / 63 Back to Gallery

Hemmed in by Broadway’s redevelopment, Kiddie Park — the backdrop for countless birthday parties and summer day trips — is moving its rides and picnic tables to the San Antonio Zoo.

The zoo is taking over the attraction and expects to complete the relocation this summer.

Construction of a Shake Shack restaurant next door and limited parking have made the park difficult to access, with visitors dashing across a busy Broadway or having to hop on a shuttle to get there.

Last year, co-owners Rad Weaver and Brent Conger started talking to the zoo’s leaders, gauging their interest in Kiddie Park, which the Bexar Appraisal District values at $1.45 million. The nonprofit’s experience managing rides and a kid-friendly venue was appealing, Conger said.

It would be a “a relief,” he said, to have the zoo in charge.

“Our biggest thing was keeping Kiddie Park alive,” he said. “We'd love to keep it (near the corner of Broadway and East Mulberry Avenue) — we just ran out of parking, and it made it hard for everybody to come enjoy it.”

Kiddie Park, established in 1925, bills itself as the country’s oldest amusement park. Thousands of tykes have ridden the historic carousel horses, and cars and planes — and blown out birthday candles, munched on popcorn and whacked piñatas on its grounds, totaling 37,500 square feet.

The location is full of memories for Edith Ramirez, who visited the park with her siblings as a child growing up in San Antonio in the early 1980s. The merry-go-round and the little cars powered by hand pedals were her favorite rides, said Ramirez, who now lives in Missouri.

She returned with her own kids in tow this past March on a visit to see family.

“They loved it just as much as I did,” Ramirez said. “They had a blast.”

She looks forward to taking her grandson when the 2-month-old is old enough to try the rides. Ramirez lives in a small town and said there isn’t much for children to do. Venues like Kiddie Park keep kids out of trouble, she joked.

“I’m glad they’re not going to close it,” she said. “Maybe (moving it) will bring in more people.”

Parker McCoy’s mother took her to the park when she was growing up. Years later, in 2016, McCoy had her son’s fifth birthday there. He was thrilled. The rides were a hit, she said, and the staff was attentive.

“It’s very nostalgic,” McCoy said. “It’s been there for a while, so it feels more homey compared to a brand-new shiny park.”

The zoo plans to preserve the look and feel of the historic institution, said CEO Tim Morrow.

“San Antonio's lost too many iconic attractions,” he said, citing the defunct Playland Park. “We’re excited to be part of keeping this going.”

Related: Remembering the long-lost amusement parks of Texas

The zoo and Kiddie Park’s co-owners have a revenue-sharing agreement that will end in 10 years, when the zoo becomes the sole owner, Morrow said. He declined to disclose terms of the arrangement, but said the money generated from the attraction will go toward a nonprofit focused on wildlife education and conservation.

The park will close briefly this summer while the rides and elements are being moved to a spot near the San Antonio River. Relocation costs haven’t been finalized yet, Morrow said.

When it reopens, people will be able to visit without paying zoo admission.

On ExpressNews.com: Kiddie Park carousel just one of several classic merry-go-rounds in San Antonio

Kiddie Park is an enhancement to the zoo, Morrow said. On top of the park’s regular patrons, it’s expected to be a draw for people heading to the zoo. The zoo sees nearly 1.2 million visitors a year.

“It gives people a lot of options,” Morrow said. “People will stay a little bit longer.”

When original owners P.W. Curry, Tom Riordan and Rufus Walker built the park, the property was on the outskirts of town, the Express-News reported in 2017.

Some of the first rides were ponies and goats pulling carts. The park’s miniature cars arrived in the 1920s. Miniature planes flew in around the 1940s, and at one point patrons could hop on handcars, powered around a track by the riders’ hand pedals.

The attraction’s crown jewel is the hand-carved merry-go-round, which dates back to 1918. It was crafted by Herschell-Spillman Co. of North Tonawanda, New York, and moved to San Antonio from Miami in 1935.

On ExpressNews.com: Kiddie Park still providing old-fashioned fun and memories

A “Little Dipper” roller coaster was added in the 1950s, along with little boats and other features.

Bob Aston purchased the park from Curry in 1978 and managed it for about two decades. A struggling economy and rides in need of repair pushed him to shut it down in 2009. That’s when Weaver, who went to the park as a child, bought it.

Weaver and his wife, Ashley, fixed it up, making sure the rides were inspected and brought up to code. The “Little Dipper” was nixed — though a few carts and the ride’s signage were saved — to add more tables and offset less parking on Broadway. The couple erected a big metal gate.

The Weavers held a birthday party for their daughter, Cecelia, in August and opened the park over Labor Day. It briefly closed for renovations before reopening in 2010.

“My hope is that the park is here for a long time,” Weaver told the Express-News in 2017. “It’s a bit of a San Antonio institution in a way.”

René A. Guzman contributed to this report.

madison.iszler@express-news.net