Children's Fairyland, U.S.A. is an amusement park, located in Oakland, California, on the shores of Lake Merritt. It was one of the earliest "themed" amusement parks in the United States. Fairyland includes 10 acres (4.0 ha) of play sets, small rides, and animals. The park is also home to the Open Storybook Puppet Theater, the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the United States.
Entrance to Children's Fairyland
Aesop's Playhouse performance, 2008
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is named after Samuel Merritt, Oakland's mayor in 1867–1869, who had the lagoon dammed turning the tidal lagoon into a salt water lake. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designated in 1870, and has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1963.
A view looking west toward the Lakeside Apartments District, the Tribune Tower and Downtown Oakland
Looking Southwest across Lake Merritt. In the distance are the Rene C. Davidson Alameda County Court House and Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. At the right is the Bellevue-Staten Building.
Lake Merritt
The Camron-Stanford House was built by Samuel Merritt in 1876 along the southwest corner of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.
