Americana briefly reopened in 2002 under the original name LeSourdsville Lake, but the effort by new owner Jerry Couch was short-lived as the park failed to turn a profit.
[1] Streifthau purchased a plot of land that formerly housed an ice manufacturing facility in the tiny village of LeSourdsville, and construction began in 1921.
Streifthau and his business partner, Bill Rothfuss, built a bathhouse, a restaurant, dance hall and a bridge crossing the abandoned Miami-Erie Canal that passed through the property.
Bands such as Ray McKinley, Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers and Stan Kenton graced the rich, maple wood floor to the delight of thousands of customers.
[citation needed] Bands appearing in the Stardust Gardens Ballroom included Eddie Kadle, Earl Holderman, Gene Roberts, Mary Marshall, Little Joe Hart, Eugene Jelesnick, Billy Snyder, Tommy Flynn, Billy Yates, Jimmy Scriber and Emerson Gill.
Big bands popular in 1947 included, Barney Rapp, Jimmy Miller, Ches Walker, Les Shepard, Harold Greenanyer, Del Mason, Whitey Howard, Karl Taylor and Johnny Doom.
Big bands making appearances included Sammy Leeds, Whitey Howard, Tommy Robbins, Al Cassidy, Karl Taylor, Leo Pieper, Skitch Henderson, Jimmy James and Earl Holderman.
In addition, an 18-hole miniature golf course and a new Arcade building were built at the end of the midway next to the Screechin' Eagle roller coaster.
The park also featured a native Hawaiian ornamental garden with hand carved Tiki and live palm trees.
The big band names of Jack Huntlemen, Sammy Kaye, Buddy Rogers and Bobby Grayson were slowly replaced by regular appearances by WLW's Bob Braun, The Cool Ghoul from WXIX, WKRC's Glenn "Skipper" Ryle and a host of television stars, movie celebrities and music acts.
The opening of Kings Island amusement park just a few miles away in nearby Mason, Ohio in 1972 didn't dampen the spirits of Howard Berni.
The shows featured the "Krazy Kritters" (people in whimsical animal costumes) and consisted of a pre-recorded narration that a “master of ceremonies” critter pretended to speak into a microphone.
Along with a name change came a $3.5 million, three-year renovation plan to help keep the park a viable alternative to Kings Island.
New attractions included a 1200-seat tent featuring performances of the Hanneford Family Circus, a seven character animated band called the Bear Country Jubilee,[6] and the Coca-Cola Great American Thrill Show theater.
The flume, designed by Ron Berni and built by Barr Engineering of Minnesota, was located in a former bird sanctuary in the old Tombstone Territory section of the park.
At the end of the season, park vice president Guy Sutton left to take a position with an industry consulting firm.
The result was over $5 million in losses, including a first aid office, arcade, games building, locker rooms and food concessions.
The park quickly enlisted the assistance of local labor unions to rebuild the area in time for the April opening with payment to come later in the summer.
Joe Faggionato, Guy Sutton, Lenny Gottstein and Don Robison took over the park and began the long, hard effort of erasing the previous year's nightmare from customers, including the local unions.
In 1993, the animated Bear Country Jubilee show was sold to the Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio.
By 1995, Faggionato, Gottstein and Robison realized that a bigger company with more capital would be needed to continue upgrading the park so Americana was put up for sale.
Between 1996 and 1998, over $1 million was spent on upgrading the Screechin' Eagle roller coaster, developing a new paint scheme of magenta and teal, introducing a new merchandising line in the gift shop consisting of unique Americana emblazoned clothing, and adding a variety of rides, including a carousel, Ferris wheel, and the Tempest.
"The job market is tight and I've missed the window of opportunity to hire kids who are getting out of school," he said in a Cincinnati Enquirer interview.
Initial plans called for a year-round facility with Halloween and Christmas activities, construction of a campground, the opening of Couch's Campers Superstore on the property and new food services.
In April 2002, former carnival owners, the Pugh Family, established the LeSourdsville Group and was hired to manage the park for the 2002 season.
Rides brought in earlier in the year were repossessed after the season ended due to non-payment by the Pugh management group.
"With the opening of the ....Super Center, we are one step closer to fulfilling our ultimate goal of establishing an RV and amusement park combination."
I'm not saying that will happen," said a publicist with Expo Management & Ad Agency in Cincinnati, which was hired to handle marketing for Couch's camper company.
[citation needed] In 2009, the park's steel roller coaster, The Serpent, received a second life, as it opened in May 2009 under the same name at Kokomo's Family Fun Center in Saginaw, Michigan.
In 2017, it was announced that Butler Tech, a county-wide vocational school, purchased 36 acres of the former park for $2.7 million to develop a new campus.