Marco Polo Park Daytona Beach Florida

This charming pictorial map was illustrated by Benn Hill (signed, lower right) and issued around 1973 as a souvenir for Marco Polo Park, formerly located in Flagler County, Florida. The amusement park was based on the semi-mythical travels of Marco Polo and originally opened in 1970, featuring a massive Japanese village. The image includes the later significant Venetian, Chinese Turkish, and Indian expansions introduced in 1972. Major attractions include the Taj Mahal, Scooter Palace, sampans through the Island Paradise, a Spinning Coolie Hat, and a large Ferris Wheel. A narrow-gauge railway circling the park’s perimeter is named the ‘Ah-So Railroad’, with stops at Shanghai Station, Calcutta Station, and the Port of Istanbul. Significant competition from the opening of Disney World, the 1973 oil embargo, and a pair of suspected arson fires all contributed to the demise of Marco Polo Park (and its brief successor, Passport to Fun World) in 1975. Source: Flagler County Historical Society.