Olentangy Park Banzai Bridge

The Banzai Bridge at Olentangy Park, Columbus, Ohio. The Banzai Bridge was purchased in 1905, along with other buildings of the Fair Japan exhibit, such as a tea house and a Japanese garden. Olentangy Park was an amusement park that opened in 1893 by Robert M. Turner, originally called The Villa. It was bought in 1896 by the Columbus Street and Railroad Company, and then again by the Dusenbury brothers in 1899. The brothers constructed a theater, a merry-go-round, and other rides like Loop-the-Loop roller coaster. The property was sold again in 1926 to the Olentangy Amusement Company, then to Leo and Elmer Haenlein in 1929. At this point a zoo and a ballroom were added to the park. Olentangy Park closed in 1937 after being purchased by the L. L. Leveque Company. The Gooding Amusement Company bought the Ferris wheel, airplane ride, rifle range, and the carousel, which is now located at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The park was located along the banks of the Olentangy River on land which, as of 2014, was owned by the Olentangy Village Apartments