The amusement park that operated for 71 years in West View was already long gone and replaced with a shopping center by the time Mike Funyak was born in 1992.

But his life-long love and fascination for amusement parks left him longing to learn all that he could about the iconic West View Park.

The result of his quest is a new book titled “West View Park: The Story of the T.M. Harton Company.”

Funyak’s book chronicles the life of Theodore Marshall Harton II, who opened West View Park in 1906 and became a pioneer in the amusement park industry.

The 286-page book published by Tarentum-based Word Association Publishers features 300 photographs of the park, including a number that have never been previously published. It is available for purchase online.

“I never even heard of West View Park until I was about 7 or 8 when my grandmother mentioned that her and my grandfather met at Danceland, which was in the park,” said Funyak, 29.

“I remember thinking: How is it possible that there once was another amusement park in the area not that long ago that I had no idea existed? All I knew about was Kennywood because that’s where we went as kids,” he said.

Funyak’s interest in learning about the inner workings of amusement parks led him to work at Kennywood Park during summers while studying business at Robert Morris University.

After graduation, the Penn Township, Westmoreland County, native moved to the Altoona area to take a job at Delgrosso’s Amusement Park.

One of Funyak’s goals with the book was to go beyond a simple reminiscence of the amusement park and dig deeper into park operations and the role the Harton company played in the nation’s amusement park industry.

In addition to West View Park, Harton operated amusement rides and concessions in multiple parks in the United States and Europe. The company was a pioneer in the mass production of amusement equipment.

Funyak said his work in the amusement park industry helped him shape the focus of his book.

“Amusement parks are an important part of many people’s lives because it’s the place where they go to leave their worries behind and gather with their friends and families for fun and entertainment,” he said.

“But creating those memories for people doesn’t just happen by turning on the lights. It’s a business run by people. So I wanted to tell the story of who those people were and how they helped shape the amusement park industry.”

Interest in preserving the memory of West View Park has led to efforts to create a museum to preserve artifacts and memorabilia from park.

In addition to the personal research about the amusement park and its founders, Funyak tracked down descendants of the park’s early operators. He also interviewed former employees and amusement industry professionals.

“I wanted this book to be more than just something that caters to people who like amusement parks or have memories of West View Park,” he said. “I wanted to document a part of the Pittsburgh area’s history and how West View Park helped create the amusement park industry we know today.”

Funyak will discuss his book at the West View Hub community center on Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but registration is required.

People who attend are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to help the West View Hub Food Pantry.

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