Amusement parks are controlled environments that entertain visitors through the simulation of space, place, and experience. It is the element of control that is initially most important in defining the building type because the amusement park presents itself as a safe, and indeed sanitized, environment wherein conventionally dangerous or arduous activities can be undertaken without fear of their consequences. The desire for control leads to the necessity of simulating or fictionalizing each and every space and event that the visitor to the park will experience. For this reason, amusement park designers often treat their buildings and settings simply as film sets, facades that are divorced from the function of their interiors and that are dismantled and changed at will. In the early years of the 20th century, this transience was exacerbated by the fact that a single designer was rarely responsible for more than one part of any park. In combination, these factors render the task of deter...