On June 21, 1920, a fire broke out at the Joyland amusement park at 35th Street and 5th Avenue in Sacramento, California. The fire burned down most of the attractions and buildings. Originally opened as a residential park in 1889 in Oak Park (Sacramento’s first suburb), the Sacramento Gas, Electric, and Street Railroad Company (a subsidiary of PG&E) sought to make the location an amusement park to attract the citizens of Sacramento to the area with a rollercoaster called the “Scenic Railway,” a zoo, a pool, concession stands, skating rink, and other attractions. The park was successful when it opened June 14, 1913 with thousands of visitors. The Sacramento Union newspaper dubbed the park “Sacramento’s Coney Island.” In June 1920, Joyland was seeing a record high number of visitors. The Sacramento Union published the next day that the fire was caused by a rapidly growing grass fire. Luckily, the animals in the zoo were saved and nobody was injured. It was reported that there was ove...