Glen Echo and the Finlon House

Frank Matthew Finlon was born in October 1878 in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. His parents were Irish immigrants, and his father was a watchman. In 1900, Frank still lived at home, and was working as a carpenter for the railroad. He married Theresa “Tessie” Buckley in 1903 when they were both 25 years old. The groom planned to work in the mines as a carpenter, but his luck changed. Instead he became the first manager of Luna Amusement Park in Scranton.  Because of his work experience, he may have been hired to construct a mini railway when they were building the park in 1906. In the 1910 census, the Finlons were still living in Scranton and had three small children: Genevieve, Harold and Eleanor. 

The family moved to Maryland in 1911 when Frank became the construction manager of Glen Echo Amusement Park. He was a very busy man building and designing both rides and structures around the park. 

May 1913 ad in Washington Times

I found the paragraph below in a Park Service history of Glen Echo.

"In 1925 the Glen Echo amusement park Dance Pavilion is converted into the Crystal Ballroom, whose 7,500 square-foot maple floor is believed to have been retained from the earlier structure built in 1911 and wholly upgraded in 1921. The ceiling, made by amusement park superintendent Finlon and his wife, is of a lattice frame covered by a fine silk cloth.” 

Frank also built the housing for the Dentzel Carousel which is the only ride still operating in the park today.

Glen Echo 1925

Quite the leap from Carbondale.

The family lived a bit of a fairy tale life making their home on the second and third floors of the Chautauqua tower which was built in 1891. They lived there from about 1911 until 1925.  Their last child, Clare was born in 1913. In 1914, the shake shingle roof caught fire, but luckily no one was hurt.  

I wonder if the bustle of the place was getting to Frank by 1924. According to a mention in the Evening Star, when he was asked what he thought of the new chimes of the nearby Epiphany Church, he replied "I can't hear a thing you say on account of those damn bells."

In 1926, Frank escaped “those damn bells.” He went into the building business and started with a large home he built for himself at 5419 Cathedral Avenue. All four of his offspring were still living at home when the family moved in: Genevieve was 20, Harold was 19, Eleanor, 17, and Clair was 16. Three out of four of the “children” were still living on Cathedral 14 years later in 1940.  Eleanor, the go-getter, had married John Beamer around 1937, but all of the other siblings married late in life. The oldest son, Harold, continued to work at Glen Echo until he joined the Navy during WW2. 

Frank probably never retired. He worked in the building business for about a decade, but the amusement parks drew him back. He helped rebuild the Chesapeake Beach, and managed Tolchester Park near Rock Hall, Maryland for the last five years of his life. He fell ill and died at home in February 1942 at the age of 62 and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery. By 1950, all of his children had finally married and probably moved out. Tessie died in 1963 and was buried with Frank. She still lived on Cathedral Ave.

Addendum:

Harold Finlon followed in his father’s footsteps and worked at both Glen Echo and later in Chesapeake Beach. He married the love of his life, Mildred Garland in about 1943. Mildred was also a fan of amusement parks, and had many fond memories of summers in Chesapeake Beach. where her father had built 6 cottages in 1922. 

In 1948, Harold quit his job with the Navy and became the superintendent of Chesapeake Beach's amusement park.  Harold and Mildred had two sons, Harold Jr or “Finny” and Allen. Like their father, both boys were raised in an amusement park, and for many years, children gained free admission to the park on Finny’s birthday,

 

Harold died in 1969, and the park closed in 1972. The park's Dentzel carousel was taken down, but Mildred rescued one of the kangaroos and kept it in her basement. 

Mildred was a power house. She worked as a public school teacher in Washington DC for many years before she married Harold, and also in Calvert County where she was an early advocate for integrated schools. She was also a founder of the Chesapeake Railway Museum where she donated her kangaroo.