See What the Great Escape in Lake George Was Like 70 Years Ago

Storytown, USA in 1954

It's hard to believe that the Great Escape wrapped up its 70th season in the beautiful Lake George region of Upstate New York.

Throughout decades of change, few are more knowledgeable than Bob Carroll about Lake George's history and charming nostalgia, including the very early days of Storytown USA and The Great Escape.

Carrol lives in Los Angeles but was born in Johnstown and has lived in the Capital Region for many years.  His Lake George history runs deep because he worked for Charles Wood, the wealthy proprietor who founded Storytown USA, which eventually became The Great Escape.

Mr. Wood employed Carroll for over 20 summer seasons as an announcer, a ventriloquist, a magician, an emcee, and just about any other job he needed to do during the early days of the classic Capital Region theme park.

The Best of Times

As Carroll puts it, "It was the best of times."

While some of the attractions from Storytown USA's very first days still exist in the park today, many are long gone. Most of us are too young to remember what the Mother Goose-themed family park looked like in the '70s and '80s, let alone the 1950s.

But thanks to Mr. Carroll - and these photos taken by his parents when he was only four years old - we'll be able to see for the first time, or reminisce, what Storytown USA looked like when it first opened in 1954.

Rare Photos Show Storytown In It's First Season