Wender·Vista
Great Escape
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York · United States
in Queensbury, just south of Lake George

Great Escape

— — the storybook park that grew a coaster.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The amusement park on Route 9 in Queensbury, a few minutes south of Lake George in the Adirondack foothills. It opened in 1954 as Storytown USA, a storybook park built by local entrepreneur Charles R. Wood, and grew through the seventies and eighties into a regional thrill park. Six Flags acquired it in 1996. The wooden Comet coaster, rebuilt in 1994 from the 1948 ride at Crystal Beach in Ontario, still anchors the back of the park.

from the studio
Great Escape
— bring it home

Great Escape, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Great Escape

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Great Escape — formally Six Flags Great Escape & Hurricane Harbor — sits along U.S. Route 9 in Queensbury, New York, about ten minutes south of Lake George Village and an hour north of Albany. It opened on 4 July 1954 as Storytown USA, the project of local entrepreneur Charles R. Wood — a small attraction built around storybook tableaux for families driving to the lake. It expanded through the 1960s and 1970s, was renamed The Great Escape Fun Park in 1983, and was acquired by Premier Parks, later Six Flags, in 1996.

— the year

The park runs a seasonal calendar tied to the upstate-New-York summer. The main park typically opens in late May and runs through Labor Day, with Fright Fest weekends through October and Holiday in the Park dates in December. The Hurricane Harbor water park, added in 2005 on the property next to the main park, operates from mid-June through late August. Lake George Village, ten minutes north on Route 9, sets the broader season for the area — Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend.

— the visit

The park is reached from the Adirondack Northway, Interstate 87, at exit 20, with the entrance a short distance west on U.S. Route 9. Parking is on-site. Lake George Village, with its lakeside hotels and steamboat dock, is ten minutes north. The Comet — a 1994 rebuild of the 1948 wooden coaster from Crystal Beach Park on Lake Erie in Ontario — remains the most-cited ride and anchors the thrill section at the back of the park. Pieces of the original Storytown — Jungle Land and a few storybook structures — remain preserved within Ghost Town.

— where
United States · Queensbury, Warren County, New York
— position
43.3375° N · 73.6964° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
8 km N
Lake George Village
resort village
7 km S
Glens Falls
city
15 km N
Adirondack Park
state park
N
Great Escape
Lake George Village
Glens Falls
Adirondack Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Great Escape — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Great Escape sits on U.S. Route 9 in Queensbury, New York, about ten minutes south of Lake George Village and an hour north of Albany, off exit 20 of the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87).

It opened on 4 July 1954 as Storytown USA, founded by Lake George–area entrepreneur Charles R. Wood. It expanded into a thrill park through the 1970s and was renamed The Great Escape Fun Park in 1983.

The park was acquired by Premier Parks in 1996, which became Six Flags shortly after. It now operates as Six Flags Great Escape & Hurricane Harbor, with the water park added on the adjacent parcel in 2005.

The Comet is the park's signature wooden coaster, rebuilt at The Great Escape in 1994 from the 1948 Comet at Crystal Beach Park on Lake Erie, Ontario. It is regularly cited among the better-preserved wooden coasters in North America.

The main park typically opens in late May and runs through Labor Day, with Fright Fest weekends in October and Holiday in the Park dates in December. Hurricane Harbor runs mid-June through late August.

Storytown USA was the original 1954 attraction — a storybook-themed park with fairy-tale tableaux, modest rides, and a small Jungle Land of animal displays. Pieces of it remain preserved within the Ghost Town section.

— about the piece in your home

Often, yes. For an upstate-New-York family that drove Route 9 every summer, the park is a strong childhood marker. The piece reads instantly to anyone who rode the Comet.

The warm storybook palette and Adirondack greens suit Cabin-modern, Americana, and warmer Eclectic rooms. It works against pine, painted board, and worn leather — anywhere the room leans nostalgic rather than minimal.

Yes. Nostalgic-Americana has been leaning warmer and more specific — named places, real childhood landmarks, less generic flag-and-barn. The piece reads as an anchor in that kind of room.

Above a sofa, a Large works alone; for a longer wall, a 4-tile Mural opens the park in. Above a console or entry table, a Medium centred at eye level reads cleanly without crowding.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so steam, splash, and routine cleaning do not affect it.

A soft microfibre cloth, lightly dampened with water. Skip household sprays — they leave a film on the glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface and cannot be wiped off.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is from Reid Wender's hand, made in our Knoxville studio. We don't licence the visual language, and no two place-pieces in the atlas share a composition.

— if this one stayed with you

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