Content area
Full Text
Silverwood Theme Park has seen attendance grow so steadily in recent years that it is building a new entrance to welcome the crowds.
Silverwood opened in 1988 and steadily began adding rides and other attractions, beginning with a steam engine railroad train built in 1915. Its signature wooden roller coasters were added in the 1990s, followed by the Boulder Beach water park in 2003. Now rides and attractions cover 220 acres on the site of what used to be a small airport, called the Henley Aerodrome.
Owner Gary Norton, who founded the Spokane computer company ISC Systems Corp., bought the airstrip with ideas for a vintage plane museum. He owns 600 acres of land along Highway 95, meaning there's ample room for expansion. The land was rezoned as commercial in April, but beyond the new entrance, which will include a bakery and coffee bean roaster, there are no public plans.