 right|thumb|250px playland, often called rye playland and also known as playland amusement park, is an amusement park located in rye, new york. run by westchester county, it is one of the only government owned-and-operated amusement parks in the united states. ==history== in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, playland's waterfront area of westchester county, new york along the long island sound was the site of a growing collection of recreational developments, including hotels, resorts, and "amusement areas". local residents concerned about what a county report described as "unsavory crowds" induced the westchester county park association to purchase two existing theme parks, rye beach and paradise park, and planned a local-government-sponsored amusement park in their stead. frank darling, a veteran park manager with experience at coney island and the british empire exhibition at wembley, was hired to design and run the new park, called playland. construction commenced in september 1927 and was completed in six months. a design firm was commissioned to decorate the entire park in the art deco style. the park began operation on may 26, 1928. the original design included a boardwalk, ice-skating rinks, a swimming pool, and two beaches, as well as amusement park rides, some of which are still in use. built in 1929, the dragon coaster serves as the park's mascot and appears in the playland logo. the dragon coaster is one of roughly 100 wooden roller coasters still in operation in the united states. the "ice casino", built in 1929, originally contained a main ice rink as well as a full dance floor on the second fl
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