Big Picture: Cedar Point's Fascination

As the 1965 season dawned at Cedar Point, advertisements in newspapers as far-flung as the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Detroit Free Press and the Pittsburgh Press touted the $500,000 remodel of the brightly lit Fascination building.

The game had been part of the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park for only a decade, but it had already become a favorite. “It is something like bingo except skill is needed to drop one rubber ball in any one of the 25 holes on the board,” wrote Milt Widder of the Cleveland Press in 1955. “When one line lights up, the roller is a winner. Prizes range from 50-cent items to an electric three-speed phonograph — which takes 54 ‘wins’ to acquire.”

Fascination debuted in 1918 at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, leveraging new technology by using telephone relays to manage the lights and switches. Soon, it could be found across the country. (The Times Square Fascination parlor can even be seen in an early scene of the 1968 movie “The Odd Couple.”)

But today’s innovations become tomorrow’s antiques. As touch-tone phones entered testing in the 1960s, the technology that powered Fascination grew obsolete. Manufacturers went out of business, and the venues that once drew thousands of players declined, with many closing altogether.

Cedar Point’s Fascination parlor held on until 2001, when it was replaced by a Johnny Rockets restaurant. In a statement announcing the closure, park vice president and general manager Daniel Keller cited the increasing difficulty in finding replacement parts. Ironically, that Johnny Rockets shut its doors in 2023, and the space was converted back into an arcade.

Stay on top of  everything Lake Erie has to offer — all year long — by subscribing to our free The Splash newsletter. It’s your guide to the best food, drinks, parks, beaches, shopping, festivals, music and more.