Recovering Landscape

Abstract

Entertainment centers fuse a multitude of cultural aesthetics into one finite place, ultimately making fictional places for paradise. Resort destinations provide the guest with a variety of entertainment options for people of all ages. This thesis describes how entertainment destinations have to combat with their surroundings and their distorted history at finding a true identity. Cedar Point Amusement Park has the personality of a commercial enterprise shared by stunning geographical features like the Lake Erie islands. This intervention will create the ultimate mechanical dreamland that suits the industrial identity of the Rustbelt city of Sandusky by bridging guests from Cedar Point to an improving urban condition. The attraction will become an educational tool for informing about the dangers of pollution and algae blooms. The mechanical park will also serve as a catalyst for urban renewal by potentially doubling the number of tourists that come to Sandusky and Cedar Point. Most importantly, the final product is an attempt to connect the built environment with the natural landscape by drawing upon history and local tradition.