From flashy theme parks and rock'n'roll dens to lion safaris and dolphin shows — 20th-century Perth had an eclectic idea of fun.

Long before the city's population cracked one million, there were a host of places to which people flocked for their thrills and spills.

Most of them no longer exist, providing an interesting task for the State's Heritage Office when documenting places of historical significance.

"These are things that are about people's memory, how people use a place, how they feel about it, the people that might have been associated with it in the past," Penny O'Connor, director of heritage assessment, said.

"They're not the bricks and mortar and the stone and slate that you can see and touch and feel and the bells you can hear."

So, where did people in Perth go when they wanted to let their hair down?

Dancing by the beach

Dancers at the Snake Pit were known as bodgies and widgies — the trendsetters of the time. ( Supplied: City of Stirling History Collection )

The import of Perth's first jukebox in the early 1950s quickly turned a quiet beachfront cafe into the city's hottest dance venue.

Hundreds of stylish teenagers would flock to Scarborough's Snake Pit to dance the night away.

Local musicians would also perform in the cafe's courtyard, including Johnny Young who went on to become the nationally recognised host of Young Talent Time.

The Snake Pit was named after the flamboyant snake-like dance moves that went hand in hand with jive and rock'n'roll music.

It was eventually sold in 1977 as a new era of popular music emerged, but the Snake Pit name lives on as it's now a skate park that opened earlier this year.

When Neptune ruled the dolphins

Dolphins were the park's star attraction. ( Supplied: State Library of Western Australia )

The Atlantis water and wildlife park at Two Rocks, north of Perth, lasted only nine years after opening in 1981 but was hugely popular with thousands of families visiting every week.

Its star attraction was a pod of seven bottlenose dolphins trained as performance animals.

The park was also home to a giant limestone sculpture carved in the likeness of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.

Billionaire developer Alan Bond had grand plans to turn Atlantis into a park that would rival the likes of Disneyland, however financial problems saw it close in 1990.

The dolphins were set free and local fishermen have reported some of them still swim into the Two Rocks marina in search of a feed.

The site sat abandoned and overgrown for more than two decades before the Neptune sculpture was reopened to the public in 2015.

Alan Bond had hoped to see Atlantis rival the likes of Disneyland. ( Supplied: State Library of Western Australia )

Sideshow entertainment

Luna Park was the sideshow alley of its time and opened in 1939 near the shores of one of Perth's most popular beaches.

The Scarborough branch was party of a chain of global amusement parks, many of which still operate today, including Luna Park in Melbourne.

It boasted several attractions including the popular Gee-Wizz ride, bumper cars, flying boats, merry-go-rounds as well as shooting and archery galleries.

The park was demolished in the 1970s to make way for what is now the Luna Shopping Centre.

Did you know Perth once had its very own Luna Park? ( Supplied: City of Stirling History Collection )

Luna Park was demolished in 1972 to make way for a shopping centre. ( Supplied: City of Stirling History Collection )

Suburban safari

More than 30 lions and cubs once roamed the grounds of what was Perth's only open-range zoo.

The Bullens African Lion Safari was extremely popular with curious locals and tourists when it opened in 1971.

Families would drive their cars through the park to get up close and personal with the lions.

After a 17-year run the park eventually shut it gates in 1988, with management blaming the high cost of animal feed, expensive public liability insurance and opposition from animal rights activists.

The park was redeveloped as a market garden which still exists today.

Lions were kept in two separate prides and would breed within the group. ( Supplied: Wanneroo Regional Museum )

Lion park manager John Gilberton hung this now infamous sign on the front gates. ( Supplied: Wanneroo Regional Museum )

The lido on the river

Before Perth had public swimming pools, the jellyfish-infested waters of the Swan River were the best option for people wanting to cool off in calm waters.

Built in 1914, the Crawley timber baths were a popular swimming hole for more than 50 years.

Thousands of children were taught to swim there and it also hosted dozens of school swimming carnivals.

At the time, the Crawley baths were the largest enclosed body of water in the Southern Hemisphere.

They were demolished in 1964 after the Beatty Park swimming pool was built for the Commonwealth Games.

The bronze statue Eliza was built on the water where the baths once stood in 2006 to commemorate the site.

The Crawley baths were built in 1914. ( Supplied: State Library of Western Australia )