PTL / Heritage USA: 22 Years Later- 6/26/09- Vid #2

Starts out in the HGH (Heritage Grand Hotel) main parking lot in front. The last time I was here, in June 1988, the green bushes I am walking next to were no higher than my knees. Now they are nearly as tall as I am! The grounds upon which I was walking were nearly desolate. I was totally unaccustomed to such silence at Heritage USA, particularly in the summer. I guess it's partly due to the non-existence of the water park. More about that later.

From a distance, the HGH looks pretty much as I remember it from the 80's: grande & opulent. For that, I was excited. However, my mental state of mind was about to change. When I got to the Main Street part, it was a dismal, utter let-down. The magnificent 1860's style store frontage was completely gone, replaced with drab, boring, completely lifeless stucco walls, with boring ordinary doors & windows. It looked 100% different, and 1000% worse, in my opinion.

Yet, there were signs of its former beauty all over the place. At 2:08, you can see outlines of the woodwork which had been removed from the exterior brickwork near the doors (some form of overhang or porch had been here). At 2:20, if you look hard enough, you can see the round marks where the words "Heritage USA" were affixed to the side of the building (they look like bullet holes). But, other than that, the exterior of the Main Street area was a complete disappointment. Also gone were the fountains outdoors and the abundant cast iron fencing which surrounded all the grassy areas. The white fencing that has remained was rusty and broken in areas.

At 4:56, I got a little closer to the abandoned and completely demolished water park. The wood bridge in the video is all that remains of the circumnavigational train which once chugged around the lake.

Although I was never inside the structure, the castle a short ways away from the former Partner Center is still standing. I heard that the original intent was for this building to house a Wendy's restaurant. The building has been vacant for over a decade.

From the old auditorium section of the former Partner Center you can see the housing units as plain as day across the lake. I believe those units occupy the area where Buffalo Park, and a train station once were. The old-fashioned popcorn wagon seems oddly out-of-place, since the facade of 1860's-look Main Street was stripped to its boring current appearance. The former opulent Cafeteria is no longer. It is now a convention room.

From satellite imagery online I was able to determine just which buildings were still standing on the former Heritage USA grounds. Some are in better condition than others. Some are in such hopeless condition that they should be torn down and put out of their misery.

It is said that all good things come to an end. Sadly, it appears that the park once known as Heritage USA will never be as fine as it once was in the 80's. On a brighter note, some of the buildings are still intact. Hopefully they will remain so.

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[Percoduschule]

CincinnatiGifts, I just want to thank you profusely for all your Heritage USA/PTL videos and information. Since last Saturday, when I stumbled across this treasure trove, I've been watching video after video. You've prompted me to get all the Bakker/PTL-related books I can from my local library, too! I remember reading all sorts of info. about the fall of PTL way back when, but now, with your videos, I can picture the locale and really feel what the glory days were like. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[CincinnatiGifts]

@Percoduschule- You're welcome. There are many vids on YouTube (some of which are mere copies of my own). I had hoped that putting some of my old vids on YT would encourage others to digitize and upload some of their own old home movies. There are lots of books and old PTL items on ebay as well. Someone sent me a message last month that she actually SAW herself in one of the vids I had recorded back in 1988 of Jim & Tammy in the former HGH lobby.

[Percoduschule]

@CincinnatiGifts - thank you for the eBay advisory - I just checked! If you don't mind, I have a brief question for you that Google hasn't been able to answer. In watching videos of Tammy Faye performing on both PTL and Tammy's House Party, I've noticed the great talent and charming manner of one of the PTL Singers, Ron. Crazy question, but do you happen to know his full name and if he's continued on with singing/ministry? I'd love to see what he's up to today. Thank you!

[CincinnatiGifts]

@Percoduschule- I believe the Ron to whom you are referring is Ron Aldridge. (The spelling may be off). He was a former PTL singer and part-time fill-in PTL show host. I believe he has continued on ministering, to some degree. I am fairly certain he has a website.

[twilliger123]

@CincinnatiGifts Of course, he was using other people's money!

[Percoduschule]

Thank you so much, CincinnatiGifts!!

[CincinnatiGifts]

@Teflon65- I remember the Aiptecs.... some are still around, in drugstores and such.

[Teflon65]

@CincinnatiGifts I have a cheap Aiptec video camera, from a few years ago. I recorded directly from a VCR onto that camera. The quality wasn't the best, because the tracking on the VCR was off. I was in a hurry, and recorded what I wanted as fast as I could. You have to be careful though, because a newer Aiptec camera probably has an HDMI hookup, not intended to record from a VCR or older DVD player.