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Park Profilewww.parkworld-online.comKemahBoardwalkFun ’n’ food in TexasGary Kyriazi traces the development of this classicwaterfront amusement park, one of several Texasattractions operated by the Landry’s restaurant,hospitality and entertainment groupAviatorIt’s simple: the mystic, infinite attraction of water. It’shuman: we’re drawn to water. It’s worldwide: onany body of water – lake, river, or ocean – youerect a pier, a wharf or a boardwalk, and as humanbeings we flock there. It’s our nature.As amusement parks proliferated and prospered inthe early 20th Century, wherever there was a body ofwater, there was an amusement park. The water wasfirst, the amusement park second. Trolley companiesbuilt their tracks from the cities to the water, theweekend crowds hopped on the trollies and went tothe water, where they swam and spent their money onfood and amusements.Today, those traditional waterfront parks that havebeen spared the wrecking ball and not replaced bycondominiums continue to thrive on this basis, be itCalifornia’s seaside parks, New York’s Coney Island,New Jersey’s seashore, Blackpool Pleasure Beach inEngland or the few other remaining oceanside, riversideor lakeside parks. The industry adage is “you can’t gowrong with water.” You go in the water, stroll theboardwalk, wharf, pier or promenade, and theamusements are secondary, albeit necessary.“In our case, we tell people to come to KemahBoardwalk to have a great meal, stroll the boardwalk,and then the amusements are third,” says 43-year-oldJames Doering, general manager of amusements atthe Kemah Boardwalk, south of Houston, Texas. Jimhas spent all his life in the amusement industry, startingat 17 as a ride operator for Six Flags St Louis (SixFlags Mid-America at the time) and spending 25 yearswith Six Flags, the last eight with Six Flags Fiesta Texas,until his transfer in 2011 to Kemah Boardwalk. “FromSan Antonio, Texas, to Kemah was an easy move forme and my family. And then again,” he adds with asmile, “there’s the attraction of the water.”Restaurants and RidesKemah Boardwalk is essentially a small, regionalpark, though it manages to get its share of visitors toInverterThe Boardwallk comes alive after dark with its restaurants and rides30MARCH 2012