Cedar Point

The official history of Cedar Point as an amusement park goes back as far as 1870, when it featured a dance pavilion, beer garden and bathhouses. Construction continued over the years, adding a broadway, theater and concert hall -- the first roller coaster, Switchback Railway, was installed in 1892.

By the turn of the 20th century it must have been quite a fun-time destination, with new rides and attractions added all the time. However, during the Great Depression there was little expansion and the place was becoming financially troubled, and by the end of World War II Cedar Point was falling apart, literally, the boardwalk damaged in many places, the timber on its last roller coaster, the Cyclone was rotting. 

 The only ride that remains from that period is the Midway Carousel, which was installed in 1946. In 1951 even the Cyclone had been torn down, though there were still plenty of existing rides including Laff-in-the-Dark, Moon Rocket, Loop-A-Plane and Bug (?) as well as funhouses -- Krazy Kastle, Fun House, and Noah's Ark. A 10-ride Kiddieland opened in 1952.

Krazy Kastle

In 1954 land adjacent to the park was acquired by Dr. Dean Sheldon for a bird sanctuary, and would become Sheldon's Marsh State Nature Preserve.

Noah's Ark

Sources:
Wikipedia
Ohio History Central
Laff-In-The-Dark.com

Mayor Burton

Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the United States Senate and later Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was known as a dispassionate jurist who prized equal justice under the law. - Wikipedia

Bipartisanship is a quaint ideal. Burton was an Ohio State Representative and then law director of Cleveland before being elected as Mayor in 1935, running as a Republican. He held that position until 1941 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he met and befriended Truman. Harry S. made him a Supreme Court Justice in 1945.

As the 45th mayor of the city, he has been credited with rooting out organized crime and his pious public demeanor gained him the nickname the "Boy Scout Mayor."

When Burton became mayor of Cleveland in 1935, the city was infested with underworld mobs, riddled with police graft. He appointed young Eliot Ness safety director, started a clean-up which had spectacular results. One racketeer it dredged up was Albert Ruddy, who this week was convicted of shaking down building contractors for thousands of dollars during his 20-year reign as a union tsar. Burton earned for Cleveland, once a city shamed by its record of traffic deaths, the National Safety Award in 1939 and 1940. He turned his attention to public health, and this year Cleveland won the National Health Award. He has fought for free speech and tolerance. To Cleveland this year went the National Civil Liberties Award. - Time Magazine, Oct. 1940

He secured over $40 million in federal funds towards relief assistance, and championed Cleveland as a convention center - the Great Lakes Exposition and the Republican National Convention occurred under his watch.

I find it difficult to imagine he initiated those events, as they occurred in the first full year of his term.

Additional Soucres:
Ohio History Central
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History