View of the cross and old signage
One of my favorite spots in Connecticut to go for a little adrenaline, is Holy Land USA, in Waterbury. Though I have never been and most likely never will be religious, I think anyone could get something out of going here. Holy Land is an abandoned theme park, and was originally created in the 1950’s. The spearhead of the project was John Baptist Greco, a Roman Catholic with the goal to spread the word of Catholicism within the community. In its height of popularity in the 1960’s, about 40,000 people would visit every year. The lack of funding and support eventually led to the park to become abandoned in 1984.
Despite multiple attempts to rebuild and reconstruct, the park still remains as it was in 1984 and is now overgrown and crumbling. Currently it belongs to local nuns who have attempted to put up gates to keep damage to a minimum.
Portions of the park are seen to be in disarray especially with the replica of Bethlehem.
The site itself isn’t very large, and it is a bit of a trek to get there due to it being high up on the tallest hill in town. However, it is definitely a must visit. I was always curious as to what it was after driving past the area so many times and seeing the 50-foot high (sometimes lit up) cross. I was raised an atheist, so religion was always a very foreign concept, so I had a very different perspective looking through the grounds.
Though I wouldn’t say it’s haunted, you can definitely feel the presence of what used to be a grand theme park and also the presence of what is was supposed to be. When you go at night, and the cross is lit up you almost feel haunted by what is was supposed to mean which is still an eerie feeling. Walking through the crumbling replica of Jerusalem is especially intense knowing Greco had brought back soil and rocks from the real city itself.
The cross at night is still lit up by the funding the nuns have put together over the years.
One of the most chilling parts about Holy Land, is actually based on what has happened in recent years. In 2011, Holy Land USA became a crime site for a murder case. I avoided visiting the theme park for awhile after it broke the news and it definitely puts a different perspective on the park that destroyed the original intent of the park. Something horrible came from something that was supposed to be a beacon of hope.
As always, if you do decide to visit I recommend going with someone you know, wearing comfortable shoes for the hike, and of course taking caution. It’s important to respect the park and the people who attempt to care for it. If you have the desire to go at night, I suggest going when it is light out first in order to get a better understanding of the area.
Good luck!
Photo from when the park was in pristine conditions.
September 10, 2020 at 1:16 pm
This place definitely looks eerie! I have never seen or heard of a theme park that revolved around religion and spreading faith, so I find Holy Land USA very interesting. I also find it crazy that Greco brought soil and rocks from the actual city of Jerusalem to construct the replica. This shows how dedicated he was to the theme park and its cause, making it even sadder that the site is in such a state of disarray.
September 10, 2020 at 3:08 pm
I had never heard of this place before reading your blog. I was raised Catholic, so I find it interesting that the man you described, John Baptist Greco, built Holy Land to spread the word of God and promote Catholicism in his community. Putting personal beliefs aside, the remnant of what this place used to be could be intriguing for anyone to go and visit, just as you described. How unfortunate it is that it has recently become a crime site! Hopefully, in future years, people will just stay away to preserve the history that surrounds this artifact.
September 10, 2020 at 10:31 pm
This place looks so creepy, I don’t know how you could walk around it without getting the biggest chills and goosebumps of your life. I’ve never heard of this place either, but I think it’s pretty cool that regardless of the efforts to rebuild the place, it never really worked. I think that it’s an amazing historic place because of the things that happened there. It’s definitely one of the scarier places that I’ve heard of, but I think that I would still go with some of my friends just to see and witness the area itself.
September 11, 2020 at 2:05 am
I am actually surprised there was not outrage over this amusement park being created since it is looked down upon to use religion for profit especially in the Catholic community. This does seem cool it reminds me of graffiti park in Philadelphia. It would have been cool if they would try to open the park again, well maybe if someone wasn’t murdered.