BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – The senior project of a Boardman woman who graduated from Youngstown State was a photo project of what is left of Geauga Lake Park, the former amusement park in Aurora located between Youngstown and Cleveland.

Jennifer Sullivan’s project is on display at Youngstown State’s McDonough Museum of Art. Her idea for the project was to capture the memories of the park through what the park is now.

“Well, what I like to do is take pictures of abandoned places and buildings, and Geauga Lake’s a place that I always loved to go when I was a child, and it’s a shame the place has fallen apart. So what I wanted to do was capture the memories of what Geauga Lake used to be and what it is now,” Sullivan said.

In order to take the pictures, Sullivan went to the site three times. Sullivan said she wandered around the fence line before discovering that the gate was open, so she walked right into the park. She shot the photos in her project on two separate occasions. On her third trip, the gate was locked and she was not able to get into the park for more pictures.Photos: Abandoned Geauga Lake Park

Sullivan does have favorite pictures within her project.

“Oh, yes, I have. Um, especially the ones of Geauga Lake, um the Big Dipper. Those ones are my favorite because it was one of my favorite rollercoasters, and it’s the only one that’s left standing, so that’s one of my favorite pictures that I did,” Sullivan said.

She did expect to see more rollercoasters still standing, but she was happy with the buildings that were left. What was left of the park was the Big Dipper, the front entrance, and the parts of the buildings still standing. Sullivan was able to get enough pictures with what remains at the park.

A lot of the park that she remembers from her childhood is gone. All of the other rollercoasters and much of the attractions are gone.

Aside from Geauga Lake, Sullivan enjoys photographing abandoned structures. In fact, Geauga Lake is not the only abandoned place she has photographed.

“Yeah, I’ve done pictures. I did a couple series with some houses that were just abandoned and what was left over, and I like t try to capture the memories of the families that used to live there, too,” Sullivan said.