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Local Documentary Filmmaker Sets Sights On Willow Grove Park

By Jim Melwert

WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) --A local documentary filmmaker is focusing on an area-theme park that's been closed for decades, but was once one of the biggest in the country.

Filmmaker Ryan Ritchey moved to Glenside about 12 years ago. He says one day he was driving and noticed Willow Grove Park on his GPS.

"And I thought, 'Oh, I'll go visit Willow Grove Park.' And I pulled in and it's the Willow Grove Park Mall. And so that's what made me wonder, 'Hey, what used to be here.'"

That's leading him to produce a documentary he's calling More than a Lark: The Story Of Willow Grove Park, the title based on an old ad campaign.

And he's is reaching out not for money, but for anyone with memories, photos or videos of the park.

"And maybe we can even work in some stories. I know some people snuck into the park after it closed, as most of the structures stayed there for several years until the mall was finally built."

For more information, visit: MoreThanALark.com

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