What began as a pleasure ground in a rural setting for Sunday picnics evolved into a complete amusement park visited by many residents of the San Francisco Bay Area.

[5] In the period that followed the 1906 earthquake, comic stars from the Tivoli Theater of San Francisco relocated to Oakland and renamed themselves the Idora Park Opera Company.

In published descriptions of the park, one finds titles such as Dodge 'em, The Whip, Over the Top, Race Through the Clouds, and the Magic Carpet.

The park has five traditional roller coasters during its history: In the early 1900s, Idora Park was also the site of public demonstrations with lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air flying machines, including a balloon-launched glider flight by David Wilkie in a glider designed by John J. Montgomery on February 22, 1906.

On August 3, 1904, the first successful round-trip difficult flight in the United States was made by Baldwin with The California Arrow at Idora Park.

[9] Idora Park boasted the first outdoor public address system and the largest horn loudspeaker built by Magnavox; the first radio theater in the West; and a huge searchlight.

[7][10] It was published by the Oakland Tribune, that Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton improved their skating skills at the Idora Park roller rink.

[11] The walled-in park had a zoo, ostrich farm, performing animal shows, dance hall, racetrack, outdoor amphitheater, Japanese garden, bear grotto, a main street called the Glad Way, and a penny arcade, photo gallery, and shooting gallery.

The park offered electric souvenirs, table tennis, a musical arcade, a dancing pavilion, a roof garden and grill, lunch counters, open-air concerts, and numerous refreshment booths.

Famous stars who emerged from Oakland included Hobart Bosworth, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, and possibly Lon Chaney.

[10] A plan to develop the Central Square, an apartment and business complex by architect Hamilton Murdock, was announced.