entirely. On the days when blacks were allowed into the park, they were not permitted to interact with white park-goers. A series of protests occurred at Euclid Beach Park in 1946. On July 21, 1946, twenty people from American Youth for Democracy, United Negroes and Allied Veterans of America, and the National Negro Congress visited the park as an interracial group. They were evicted after a park policeman told them that it was park policy that there be "no sitting, no talking, no mixing of any kind... between the races." Subsequently, Euclid Beach Park was picketed on several occasions by these and other organizations. On August 23, 1946, twelve members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), another interracial group, attempted to visit the park, but were also ejected by park police. Albert T. Luster, an African-American man who had gone to the park to meet the CORE group but never actually met with its members, was later beaten by a park policeman. CORE continued to fight the segregation policy. A six-member interracial group from CORE visited the park on September 21, 1946, and were again removed from the park by the park police. However, on this occasion two off-duty Cleveland policemen, Lynn Coleman and Henry MacKey, both African-American, intervened and a fight broke out between the city police and the park police. In the scuffle, Coleman was shot in the leg with his own gun. After this incident, the park closed a week early, per the Mayor's request. Decline, closure, and legacy By the 1960s, Euclid Beach was beginning to face financial problems. In 1965, the park took two drastic measures in order to stay open. The Aero Dips roller coaster, which was the oldest in the park, was demolished. The Great American Racing Derby was also sold to Cedar Point that year. These actions were not enough to keep the park afloat. Euclid Beach Park closed forever in September 1969, after the summer season. It was one of many aging parks from another era which closed during the 1960s. Forest Park Highlands in St. Louis burned down in 1963 never to be rebuilt, New Jersey's Olympic Park closed in 1965 due to blight. Riverview Park of Illinois shut down in 1967 due largely to operating and maintenance costs. Some rides or other attractions were placed in operation at other locations. Many of the Kiddy Rides, such as the