to capacity. An overflow parking lot was opened at the bottom of the cliff in Edgewater, and shuttle buses carried visitors up to the park. The overflow lot sometimes also reached capacity, and when this happened, motorists were directed to park on local streets anywhere between the nearby George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel several miles south. This reduced parking for local residents and businesses, as well as added to street congestion. From 1947 to 1971 Palisades Park averaged 6 million visitors. Peak attendance was reached in 1969 with 10 million visitors. Radio and television commercials broadcast in the greater New York area encouraged the public to, "Come on over!" They did just that. Demise Three factors contributed to the eventual closing of Palisades Amusement Park: inadequate parking facilities; growing uncertainty about the park's future; and an increase in the number of incidents where visitors got injured or killed. By 1967, Jack Rosenthal had died of Parkinson's disease, leaving his brother Irving as sole owner. Irving, in his 70s, was not expected to manage the park for much longer. Without family heirs, it was unclear as to who would eventually assume ownership. Meanwhile, the park had become so popular that the towns of Cliffside Park and Fort Lee saw increased and worsening congestion from park patrons who did not live in the area. Local residents objected to the traffic jams, litter, changing racial demographics, and other effects of the park's immense popularity. They demanded action from local elected officials. Developers wanted to profit by the Palisades' view of Manhattan, and they successfully pressured the local government to re-zone the amusement park site for high-rise apartment housing and condemn it under eminent domain. During the next few years, the land was surveyed by a number of builders who made lucrative offers, but Rosenthal tried to postpone the park's inevitable closing and refused to sell. During the heyday of "Palisades Park" in the 1950s and 1960s, Irving would refer to Fort Lee as his town. In January 1971 a Texas developer, Winston-Centex Corporation, acquired the property for $12.5 million and agreed to lease it back to Irving Rosenthal so that Palisades Amusement Park could operate for one final season. The park permanently closed on Sunday, September 12, 1971. The last person to swim in the famous "world's largest outdoor saltwater pool" was Curt Kellinger, son of long time park employee and