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DEATH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Haunting photos reveal the remains of US’s first waterpark – featuring Americana-themed slides which once left a man paralysed in horror accident

THESE stunning images capture the eerie beauty of an abandoned water park — the first to open in America.

Lake Dolores water park was first opened in 1962 by fun-loving businessman Bob Byers, who lovingly named the venue after his wife.

Lake Dolores water park was opened in 1962, the first water park in the US
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Lake Dolores water park was opened in 1962, the first water park in the USCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
The site near Las Vegas is now a magnet for graffiti artists and photographers drawn by its eerie atmosphere
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The site near Las Vegas is now a magnet for graffiti artists and photographers drawn by its eerie atmosphereCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
All of the park's water slides have been sold off, leaving the site an empty shell
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All of the park's water slides have been sold off, leaving the site an empty shellCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
The period buildings still remain on the remote abandoned site
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The period buildings still remain on the remote abandoned siteCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
Lake Dolores was named after founder Bob Bryers' wife
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Lake Dolores was named after founder Bob Bryers' wifeCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press

Overlooking Las Vegas and the surrounding Nevada Desert, the park offered swings, ziplines, slides, boat races and dirt biking.

But declining visitor numbers led to the park's closure in the late 1980s.

A brief reopening in 1998 ended in disaster when the following year an off-duty employee slid into a partly filled pool, leaving him paralysed.

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The resulting £3.6million ruling sealed the park's fate.

Another reopening in 2002, when the park was given back to then widowed Dolores Byers, ended in failure just two years later, and it finally shut up shop.

The spooky abandoned park still has some original features, like these steps that once led up to a huge slide
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The spooky abandoned park still has some original features, like these steps that once led up to a huge slideCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
The park once had an impressive manmade lake which formed the centrepiece
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The park once had an impressive manmade lake which formed the centrepieceCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
It first closed in the 1980s and several failed reopenings followed until its final closure in 2004
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It first closed in the 1980s and several failed reopenings followed until its final closure in 2004Credit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press
The park's ghostly atmosphere is now a big attraction for photographers and filmmakers
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The park's ghostly atmosphere is now a big attraction for photographers and filmmakersCredit: Raise the Stakes Projects/Jam Press

Nearly all of its water slides have been removed and sold to other parks, leaving the it in an even eerier shell-like state.

But it has since been reborn as a magnet for artists, photographers, filmmakers and skaters who are drawn to its ghostly atmosphere.


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