Statement of Significance (as of designation - February 27, 1987):
Opened to the public in 1899, this is the best preserved survivor of the "trolley park" era when street railway companies built suburban amusement parks linked to center cities by trolley. Kennywood has been called the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World" and "America's greatest traditional amusement park"; it retains rare, exceptional, and highly representative historic amusements.