NEWS

'A huge hit': As Indiana Beach closes, Monticello tries to look ahead, get answers to why

Emily DeLetter
Journal & Courier

MONTICELLO, Ind. – The day after it happened, the closing of Indiana Beach was all the people in and around Monticello could talk about.

The nearly century-old amusement park, a centerpiece destination spot for tourists along the shores of Monticello's Lake Shafer about 30 miles from Lafayette, closed with little notice Tuesday, to the shock of local officials and community members alike.

Salina Vargas, owner of Anchor Bay Resort, Whiskey and Wine Saloon and Rugie’s Dugout, said she hopes this proves Monticello is not a “one trick pony.”

“It’s when this kind of thing happens that you can take stock of what you’ve built,” Vargas said. “Monticello is a great town and there’s so much still to offer. But, of course people are sad — it’s part of who they were, they worked there, their kids worked there. It’s a generational thing we’re losing, and (Indiana Beach) wasn’t like other parks, and it wasn’t supposed to be. That’s what bought the demise: someone tried to come in and make it something it wasn’t.”

Salina Vargas, owner of Anchor Bay Resort, Whiskey and Wine Saloon and Rugie’s Dugout, stands for a photo outside of Rugie's Dugout, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Monticello. Apex Parks Group announced Tuesday to White County officials it was closing the popular Indiana Beach amusement park that has operated on Lake Shafer since 1926.

California-based Apex Parks Group has owned Indiana Beach since 2015, after buying it from Morgan Recreation Vacations of Saratoga Springs, New York, which in turn bought the amusement park from the Spackman family — the original owners — in 2008.

'More than corn in Indiana':History of Indiana Beach Amusement Park

On Tuesday, Randy Mitchell, White County economic developer, said he met with Gregg Borman, senior vice president of operations for Apex, who told him that the company was closing Indiana Beach and three other amusement parks it owns across the country because of financial reasons. Mitchell said he was told Apex planned to dismantle Indiana Beach rides and reinstall them at its other parks.

Apex will also be closing its parks called Fantasy Island in New York and Speedzone in Texas, according to media reports that surfaced Wednesday.

Indiana Beach customers were still trying to get answers Wednesday about whether Apex planned to refund money from season passes they bought heading into summer 2020, which were on sale as recently as Christmas.

Indiana Beach also had been promoting a job fair as recently as Tuesday for Feb. 29 to fill positions for the summer. By Wednesday, the event had been removed from the park’s Facebook page.

Initial shock:Indiana Beach closing, rides being dismantled after nearly 100 years

Almost 24 hours after the announcement, Indiana Beach linked to a website page confirming it was permanently closed.

The park's closure brought a host of unanswered questions, many of which remained unanswered Wednesday, including where the rides being dismantled would go and what will happen to the land Indiana Beach sits on. Would the lakefront property be sold or torn down to build something new?

It also was unclear if, how or when people who purchased season passes could get refunds. 

Calls and emails to Indiana Beach and Apex Parks Group were not immediately returned Tuesday or Wednesday.

But Wednesday afternoon, Indiana Beach issued this statement: 

“Despite significant effort and a great deal of investment in infrastructure and rides, we have not seen an improvement in operating results.  As such, we made the difficult decision to cease operations. This was not a decision entered into lightly. Team members are being assisted by their supervisors and the company is working to minimize impact to those affected."

Indiana Beach's statement also pointed people to its homepage, www.indianabeach.com, "for answers to commonly asked questions.”

As of Wednesday evening, that site only had a place for people to submit their questions. A questionnaire posted to the site asked for a name, contact information, topic and space for questions or comments to be asked on topics including camping and accommodations, groups and birthdays and season passes.

Monticello Mayor Cathy Gross, barely two months into her first term, said Indiana Beach’s sudden closure seemed to come out of nowhere, even though rumors about the park’s future seemed to circulate every year.

“This is a devastating blow, and it’s difficult,” Gross said. “Indiana Beach has been an integral part of the fabric of our community for a very long time. But, I’m a glass-half-full person, and I believe we need to take these challenges and make opportunities out of them.”

Monticello Mayor Cathy Gross talks about the announced closure of Indiana Beach, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Monticello. Apex Parks Group announced Tuesday to White County officials it was closing the popular Indiana Beach amusement park that has operated on Lake Shafer since 1926.

Gross mentioned the Monticello Redevelopment Commission, and its goal to rebuild and revitalize the city. One of plans is to begin working on constructing a “riverfront walk,” a plan Gross said the city had long before learning of Indiana Beach’s closure.

Attempts to contact the White County Economic Development or Tourism Authority were not immediately returned. Officials at each office were out all day Wednesday for monthly meetings. 

Earl Spackman opened the park in 1926, calling it Ideal Beach, and it stayed in the family for more than 80 years. Eventually, the park, with its Indiana Beach name coming in the 1940s, grew as a place to lounge on the beach, go on rides and attend big-name concerts, including The Who and Janis Joplin.

Indiana Beach is seen from the shoreline of Lake Shafer, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Monticello. Apex Parks Group announced Tuesday to White County officials it was closing the popular Indiana Beach amusement park that has operated on Lake Shafer since 1926.

Over more than 90 years, the Monticello community has grown around accommodating visitors to Indiana Beach and the Twin Lakes, with hotels, resorts, boat rentals and restaurants dotting the surrounding areas.

Local business owners around the Twin Lakes and Indiana Beach area said while the loss of the amusement park would be difficult for businesses in the short term, there was still a lot in the White County and Monticello area that was attractive to visitors and tourists.

Indiana Beach was a generational experience for Keli Jannett, owner of Dockside Lake Resort. She said she remembered hearing stories of her grandparents seeing Frank Sinatra perform at the park and family members going on first dates there.

Like Vargas, Jannett said her phone has been ringing “off the hook” since Indiana Beach announced its closure.

“Best thing we can do now is to join together as a community,” Jannett said. “Indiana Beach is gone, but White County is not. I’ve heard nothing but support from guests who said, ‘We’re still coming,’ and that’s huge. That has to do with the area around here, and not just Indiana Beach.”

Cars for the Rocky's Rapids water ride sit in a storage area outside of Indiana Beach, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Monticello. Apex Parks Group announced Tuesday to White County officials it was closing the popular Indiana Beach amusement park that has operated on Lake Shafer since 1926.

Mike Sims and Ryan Clemons, co-owners of Outrigger Resort and real estate agents, said they saw Indiana Beach's leaving as a great opportunity for house or condo development on high-demand land. 

"This is a huge hit for tourism," Clemons said, "but a huge positive for real estate." 

Indiana Beach season pass holders were thinking about another huge hit.

Monica Burke lives in Gary, a little more than an hour north of Monticello. She drove to Indiana Beach as the season wound down in 2019, drawn by a special the park advertised for ride, food and drink passes for the following year. Burke said she bought three of each, totally nearly $450, figuring this would be the summer that she, her husband and their daughter skipped the pool near their home for Indiana Beach.

Burke said her husband broke the news to her Tuesday afternoon, teasing her that at least they’d save gas money this summer.

“I told him, ‘You better be joking,’ and went to see for myself,” Burke said. “He wasn’t. … I’ve been calling and calling and calling (Apex and Indiana Beach), but I can’t get anyone to answer. I called the (Monticello) mayor’s office, but they can’t do anything about it. … If they know what they’re doing with equipment, moving those rides to California and Florida, they should know how to get our money back.”

Some of the year-round residents living along Untalulti Drive, a stretch of road accommodating houses facing Lake Shafer and an uninterrupted view of the roller coasters of Indiana Beach, said they enjoyed having the park as a backyard. Several said they were sad to see it go.

Cherri and Lance Anderson, both retired and former Logansport residents, relocated to their Monticello home six years ago to live full time.

“I’m going to miss the Ferris wheel, because it was like a light show for us,” Cherri Anderson said.

The couple said they felt optimistic for whatever happened to the land. They said they personally hoped for some kind of music venue and a chance for the park to return to its roots hosting high-profile musical acts.

Steve Harris, who has lived along Lake Shafer just yards away from Indiana Beach since 2000, poses for a photo, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Monticello. Apex Parks Group announced Tuesday to White County officials it was closing the popular Indiana Beach amusement park that has operated on Lake Shafer since 1926.

Next door to the Andersons, Steve Harris has lived in the house overlooking the park and the lake since 2000. Harris said he has fond memories of taking his eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren to Indiana Beach, where they would “just wander in and out,” during summers spent visiting his house for family gatherings or other activities.

“It was like a McDonald's,” Harris said, referring to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren's excitement to visit, often dragging along any willing adult so they could experience the excitement Indiana Beach offered. 

Instead of the parents taking their kids to visit, he said, more often "the kids brought the parents over."

Contributing: Dave Bangert/Journal & Courier. Emily DeLetter is a news reporter for the Journal & Courier. Contact her at (765) 420-5205 or via email at edeletter@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @EmilyDeLetter.