“My office used to be in a cardboard box that the ring toss prizes came in,” says Genevieve Norris-Brown, general manager of Seabreeze amusement park in Rochester, New York, describing the makeshift amusement park headquarters she imagined she ran as a young child. A sixth-generation member of one of the longest-running family ownerships in the attractions industry, Norris-Brown always knew that she wanted to embrace her heritage and carry on the tradition.
The story dates back to 1876 when the Long-Norris family began manufacturing carousels in Philadelphia and operating them as concessionaires at parks, including Bushkill Park in Pennsylvania, Blackpool in England, and Seabreeze, which opened in 1879 and is one of the oldest continuously operating trolley parks in the United States. The family brought its first ride, a Long carousel, to Seabreeze in 1906. In 1937, Norris-Brown’s great-grandfather took over management of the park and purchased control of it from the railway company in 1946.
Her father, Seabreeze President Rob Norris, grew up in a family compound behind the circa-1920 Jack Rabbit coaster. He remembers being too small to catch the brass ring on the carousel and, before he was a teenager, picking up trash and operating games.
As with many traditional amusement parks, the 1970s were challenging times for Seabreeze. After college, Norris, his siblings, and cousin took over operations during the difficult era.
“We wanted to bring some more modern thought to the park. And we did it,” he says. Norris notes that switching to a pay-one-price model and introducing water park attractions helped turn things around. “It really changed the nature of who came to the park, and we saw that young families were our niche. We said that we’re not going to have the tallest or fastest rides, but we’re going to have the nicest, cleanest, and friendliest place.”
Three years ago, Norris-Brown assumed the day-to-day operations from her 74-year-old father, literally switching offices with him. It is now time for her and her two cousins, Alex and Jack, to assume the family’s mantle.
“It’s a privilege and an honor,” Norris-Brown says. “And it’s a little bit of pressure. I think (Seabreeze is) greater than our family at this point. The park has been here so long that we now consider ourselves caretakers to make sure the legacy continues.”
Both father and daughter say that IAAPA continues to remain an invaluable resource. The two have been actively involved with the organization and have held leadership roles. Norris served as IAAPA Chairman in 2006.
As for the future, Seabreeze seems to be in great, if tiny, hands. Norris-Brown’s 4-year-old daughter, Madelyn, is enchanted by the park and loves coming to work with her mom and grandfather so that she can enjoy the rides and interact with the staff.
“She thinks she owns my whole office,” Norris-Brown says of the exuberant seventh-generation family member.
Maybe they can get her a box.
A lifelong park fanatic, Arthur Levine first started writing newspaper and magazine travel features about the industry he loves in 1992. He produces his own Substack newsletter, “Arthur’s About Theme Parks” at AboutThemeParks.fun.
- This original reporting from IAAPA News first appeared in Funworld magazine. For more stories and videos covering the global attractions industry and to read a digital version of Funworld magazine, click here.
