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Why Chicago Razed Riverview | LOST FOREVER
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- āđāļāļĒāđāļāļĢāđāđāļĄāļ·āđāļ 15 āļŠ.āļ. 2024
- River View Amusement Park, once a vibrant entertainment destination nestled along the banks of the Chicago River, held sway over the city's amusement scene from 1904 to 1967. Established by amusement impresario William Schmidt, River View enchanted generations of Chicagoans with its thrilling rides, carnival games, and lively entertainment. Boasting attractions like the Silver Flash roller coaster and the iconic Flying Turns, River View became a cherished summer escape. However, as urban development encroached and attendance dwindled, the park closed its gates in 1967. Though River View's physical presence has long vanished, its legacy endures in the hearts and memories of those who experienced its magic, while echoes of its heyday linger in Chicago's cultural landscape.
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ITâS HISTORY - Weekly Tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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Âŧ CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Ryan Socash
Editor - Karolina Szwata
Host - Ryan Socash
Music/Sound Design: Dave Daddario
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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.
Hey everyone, this episode was a long time coming, and I'd love to hear your stories about the park! Also, let me know what you'd like to see next!
From memory:
Roller coasters:
The Flash, had enclosed cars.
Fireball, went 70mph.
Italian Bobs, trackless coaster.
Wild Mouse. (Surprised the cars didn't fall off that track, lol...)
There were a couple more. Don't remember the names....
Rides:
Chute-the-Chutes
Bumper cars
Flying teacups (or a clone of the ride)
Aladdin's Castle (Horror, fun house)
The Whip
Parachute ride (uh, uh, not me)
A helicopter/dumbo type ride
And other's I can't remember because I've killed a lot of brain cells, lol.
They had 3 or 4 SkeeBall buildings, and you got into the ticket reward score, you called a guy over and he'd give you the appropriate number of tickets. I became an excellent skeeball player, lol...
Mom wouldn't take us if there was even a chance of rain ('cause the park would pretty much shut down in the rain), and there was no reliable hour-by-hour forecasting like we get today. No cell phones either. We may have had a party line...
My dad used to visit Riverview as a kid and has told us stories of how rough and dangerous The Bob's was. A little torn you mentioned Adventureland in Addison and not Kiddieland!
Great video and your content is awesome! Any video on the long demolished Ogden Ave overpass that went over goose Island would be amazing. Thank you again!
As the completion of the repairs, repainting, and refitting of the USS Texas, Battleship Texas, BB-35 draws closer, is there anything your channel can do to spotlight this excellent legendary warship?
Hi , My name is Mark and I do remember Riverview. Not much about it but, I do remember it. I have a somewhat unique memory of it in that I lived less than a quarter mile from the park. I lived 1 block west of the river on a street called Washtinaw. If you knew where Bally Corp was as well as a Church on the Southeast corner of Belmont and Wastinaw, that's where we lived. From my bedroom window I could see the Pair-O-Chutes tower both during the daytime and at night when the Parachutes were lit up. I was fascinated by the way they functioned. I could see the lifts slowly carrying the passengers up to the top release and then slowly descend back down to bring up new riders. I do recall at times the Pair-O-Chutes would stop on the way up for a few seconds, then climb up to the top to complete the cycle. I can recall hearing people screaming, not necessarily on that particular ride, but I do remember the screams. I recall a few times when there were fireworks lighting up the sky behind the Bally Corp building. There were two times I can recall actually going to the park. My mom would get the Season Passes that came through the mail and she would load up our buggy with my two little sisters and we would walk to the park via Belmont Ave. We had to cross the Belmont ave bridge at the river. I remember we were stopped by the ringing of bells and the lowering of gates, and all the traffic would stop on either side of the bridge because it was about to be raised up to allow a sailboat to pass underneath. It was amazing to see this giant structure moan and squeak and grind away to open up just to let a small craft pass underneath. It then did the same thing as it closed back down and we could then cross the river. I was rewarded with a wave from the bridge operator as we passed by the control tower. From that point on I was fixated on the Pair-O-Chute tower as we got closer and closer. I can't tell you how we got into the park. I don't remember the grand Entrance, the coasters or much else about the park. I remember riding the Caterpillar and having that musty canvas cover over you as well as a ride called Spooktown. But the Giant Tower fascinated me to no end. My mom sat us down by some benches almost directly underneath the tower. She needed a rest after pushing that buggy for a while, so she let me watch the ride operate. I was disappointed that only two of the chutes were operating. It was a weekday and I'm sure the crowds were thin. As one of the parachutes reached the top and I hear a loud "CLACK" as it was released and opened up, I asked my mom if we could go on the ride. She looked up at the ascending chute and told me quite frankly: "There is now way in Hell I'm ever going on that thing again!" Realizing she was talking to her 4 year old son, and seeing the disappointment on my face for not being able to go on the ride that I could see from my bedroom window, she looked down at me and corrected herself by saying: "But when you get old enough you can go on it as many times as you want." I asked When would that be? she told me " Probably when you turn about 10." That sealed the deal for me! My mom promised I could go on it when I got older. I now had something to really look forward to. I couldn't wait to go on that ride. This was in the summer of 1967. Little did anyone realize that this would be the last summer the park would be opened. The next time I saw the Pair-o-Chutes tower was when it was in the newspaper tipping over to it's demise. The first thing I thought of was my mom's promise to me and that now I'll never get to go on that ride. I was so much in denial that When I got home I ran to my bedroom to see if it was really true and when I got there..... No Tower. I was devastated. I still miss that tower and I am making plans to build a six foot working replica of this once iconic symbol in my life. Work should begin on it some time, this summer. I'm still doing some research as to how certain parts were constructed. I hope to display it somewhere where people would appreciate seeing this wonderful relic. Well, that's my brief history of Riverview Park. I do miss it like so many others. Thanks for allowing comments.
Mark
My dad grew up in Evanston. Back in the 70s, when I was obsessed with Old Chicago and Great America, I asked him what his favorite roller coaster was. He said, âThe Bobs.â
@@stevehead8392 Bobs was the best.
'Ride again 5ÂĒ'
My dad was a mechanic there. Riverview was a lot less dangerous than some other parks. Lloyds of London and US Fidelity covered them for personal injuries, workman's comp and liability and the premium at the end was only about $1000,000 a year. Only 6 people died in 64 years of operation and only 2 were the park's fault. The cables broke on the Strat-o-stat and two people drowned when the plane flew into the river. The trains that collided in 1937 were on the Pippen, which later became the Silver Streak.
Great episode Ryan! My family has ties to Riverview Park. I'm your era as well, Great America in Gurnee as a teen and before that I grew up at Kiddieland in Melrose Park. My father was a boatman on the Chutes in the early-mid 60s before getting drafted in the Army and then came home to a vacant lot in '68. He's retrieved artifacts from the Chutes on that land probably a decade or so ago. Metal lamp tubes that lined the boat slide and even some rotten wooded boat pieces. Part of the 'flume' I believe is still in the ground over there filled with overgrowth and random debris. His love for the ride made him create a detailed H.O. scale model of the Chutes with working components which he took to various reunions over the years and was featured on Chicago Fox 32 for the 50th anniversary of the park's closing. He would've loved to contribute more memories of this experience in Chicago at that time if he were still with us!
I went to Riverview until the year it was closed. There was never any danger and my father never felt it was dangerous to take us there. I think the motive for closing is that the land became much more valuable to sell than to keep the park open.
Amazing. People where really having a good time
It was just a certain type of persons ruined it for the rest
Having lived and bartended in the neighborhood for the last decade, I've heard that the Police station was the reason that it finally shut down. The park was on the decline and the city wanted to build a new station... do the math.
It is interesting to know what happened to the Carousel. My mom and dad frequented Riverview during the 50's. To now know , through your awesome work, that we (the Kids) and the grandkids rode the very Carousel while we lived in Atlanta and would go to Six Flags. Fantastic.
My parents were regular attendees at Riverview. They are 83 and still alive. They managed to survive the "dangerous" rides just fine.
My grandfather, born: 1900, was about 6 years old, watching his mom do the family laundry. She had a "modern" wringer which consisted of 2 rollers, a hand-crank, and several mechanical gears right out in the open for a child to stick his finger in, which he did, resulting in the loss of a finger.
His mom did the best she could and called the local doctor, but Grandpa remembers them both saying, "to never do that again."
There were NO lawsuits. Great-grandma continued to use the wringer. And grandpa grew up wiser, minus one finger. --Tough generation.
My grandfather actually worked at Riverview. He's dead now unfortunately but my grandmother is still alive
I mean survivorship bias. The people that died at the park aren't exactly around to tell stories to their children.
I'm 71. My grandfather, actually my mom's stepfather, always took me to Riverview. He loved the rollercoasters and would drag me on them. I was afraid of heights, so it was no fun for me. We would always go to the beer garden. He would have Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and I would have root beer. To this day, I still love root beer. Once he passed away in 1959, my grandmother took me to Riverview until a few years before it closed. She liked the Wild Mouse, so she'd take me on that. That ride was a bit more my speed. I still didn't like the fact that it went back and forth across the river. It was a long way down. My grandmother & I still went to the beer garden, but we both had root beer. Thanks for doing this video. It brought back a lot of memories. Very sad what happened to the park.
My grandfather took my sister and I there several times as kids. She went only once and hated it, but I returned many times. We took the streetcars down North Avenue from Oak Park to Western and then got off at Belmont. That alone was an adventure. I was too young to ride the parachutes, but strangely, allowed to shoot the 22's at the shooting gallery. I can still smell the gun powder. The funhouse spinning floor discs and horizontal barrels were always challenging. When I think back at all that was allowed to do and experience, I can only think that just about everything fun there would be outlawed long ago. The memories of the place are indelible.
I went to Riverview in 1964 when i was 7. I went with my older brother and his girlfriend. I don't have real clear memories except for riding the Bobs. That ride scared me away from roller coasters the rest of my life. I remember a shooting range and other games. Someone won me a stuffed dog that I still have. It's a good memory.
The Cajun Cliffhanger at Great America! I also rode that many times. We would ride White Water Rampage first and then ride Cajun Cliffhanger to âspin dryâ. ð
My uncle took us to Riverview several years in a row, from about the time I was 7 until I was 10. Seeing the photo of Aladdin's Castle still gives the creepy feeling that that big face gave me when we went. It scared me but I went in. I remember the slanted floors and the mirrors that distorted your appearance. Love the Chutes but only went on the Bobs once because I was terrified. Loved the Comet because I liked a roller coaster with a roof. Wonderful memories.
My family loved Riverview. 1950's to the end in 1967. Many great memories. My sisters and I would save money and take two buses to get there. Once, one of my Uncles brought us. He thought he was taking us on a train ride, but it was a roller coaster. He was more terrified than we were. Still can see his eyes shut as he gripped my little sister. lol Thanks for this video.
Jan, I too remember that ride. Poor Uncle Don! Thanks for this link!
Thanks! Youâve given me a great conversation starter for my 88-year-old mom. I was born in Chicago in 1956 but we moved away a year later. By the time we moved back in 1969, Riverview was history. Thanks for bringing it to life.
Wonderful!
Yes! I've been asking for this for some time.
Was there a whole bunch of times when I was a kid. You'd get a Hero's sub sandwich over at the place at Addison and Western, and you could walk to the entrance of the park. You could always get discount coupons at Walgreens.
Got pretty grungy at the end of it's life, but it was always a fun place!
As a child living in a western suburb one of the things I and my siblings most awaited was the annual trip to Riverview which for us was a source of fun and fantasy. I became a roller coaster addict there and except for the trek through Alladin's Castle I only went on the roller coasters there, of which at that there were six, if my memory serves me right., The king of the coasters was the Bobs and since one had to purchase tickets for each ride and then hand them to a ticket taker to get an immediate second or third ride, I expended the grand sum of $ 3.50 and rode the Bobs 14 times straight. It's one of my most cherished childhood memories.
My mom used to tell me about Riverview, she said a boy was decapitated on a rollercoaster, not sure how true that is. I was always going to Kiddie Land and Santas Village, and eventually Great America, great memories. Sad Kiddie Land is gone as well. Thank you for the peek into the past.
I am that boy. It was more like a scalping.
Riverview was my Mom's favorite place to go in the 40's and (probably) 50's. And yeah, even if it hadn't closed in 1967, it would have been long closed by today.
It's much lesser known, and only lasted 5 years, but maybe do a video about *Old Chicago* one day?
Old Chicago. Oh my! I worked there for a year.
@@davidwatts4517 We got to go there all of once. I'm not sure of the year, but somewhere in 75-79.
In the early 90s the Harold Washington library hosted a display of models of the Riverview rides. Impressive stuff. There was local news coverage of it âĶ interviewed one of the model makers.
The display also had framed tickets, season passes, pennants, books and videos.
My father may have had his Chutes model there. He was interviewed by CBS I believe if this was the same event.
â@@mjkasper76is your dad name chuck w.
@@karlsmith2451 his name is Jerry
Me & my brother were fortunate to have visited Riverview Park back in 1966, a year before its eventual closing.
To this very day, a canopied seat from the old Paratrooper ride was preserved & stands in front of the Belmont CPD station.
I remember going to River View and riding many of those ridesðĪĐ. Thanks for bringing back those memories. I was born in the early 1950âs the memory of the park are still strong. Thanks again.
So cool!
I was young but, I remember going to RIverview. I have no specific memories other than a couple of fuzzy photos. There was another park called Playland just off the Tri_State near Bridgeview. I think it closed inthe late 70's or early 80's. Great video. Thank you Ryan.
I grew up in Cleveland and âmyâ park was Euclid Beach Park. To me, Chicago was a larger version of Cleveland. In fact, you could look at the weather in Chicago, and expect it the next day in Cleveland. I had a neighbor who grew up in Chicago and she spoke often of Riverview. So, Iâm already a subscriber to your channel. Keep up the outstanding posts!
That was a fascinating history. I attended Lane Tech High School from 1961 - 1965 which was, as you mentioned, right next to Riverview. When the park opened every spring, we could hear and see the roller coasters from the school windows. I remember attending only a few times, though, as our family didn't have money for such amusements. My favorite ride was The Chutes (it was great to get splashed on a hot summer day when the boat hit the water), and I never did gather up the courage to go on the parachutes.
The great video brings to mind Euclid Beach Park, Cleveland, Ohio. Very much the same time and problems. Thanks, Ryan.
Thanks for the memories. My brother ð and sister sometimes remind me of putting one of them on the handlebars and the other on the seat of my Schwinn and riding down there from Evanston. It's nice to be young, and maybe not so bright but full of fun
My grandparents met at Riverview. My Grandfather was a musician in one of the bands.As a kid my Aunt and Uncle lived in Hanover Park and we would drive down Lake St. through Addison and see Adventureland. My parents never wanted to take us there because by that time Six Flags had opened and the reputaton for Adventureland had become that it had gang problems and was poorly maintained. It closed shortly there after
That neighborhood wasn't dangerous in the 80s and 90s either.
I grew up going to the Great America in California, it is very interesting how 2 people nowhere near each other could grow up going to the same park and have the same experiences -- The trains from Riverviews Jet Stream coaster went to Carrowinds in North Carolina in 1976 for the Thunder Road roller coaster but were retired in 1980 because they were custom built by Riverview for Jet Stream and were much heavier than trains typically were and were causing excessive wear and tear - Riverview truly was the first coaster capitol of the world, a distinction that ironically would eventually go to a park that struggled to get by and nearly closed several times while in the shadow of Riverview, and only started to achieve succuss after Riverview closed, eventually becoming one of the most well known parks in the world , Cedar Point - And if you want to get an idea of what a ride on the Bobs was like there is a roller coaster in Santa Cruz Ca that opened the same year as the Bobs and is considered by many to be a smaller version of the Bobs
A video on "Euclid Beach Park" and/or "Geauga Lake", both just east of Cleveland would make good subjects to continue the theme of old & much loved parks that are no longer with us.
Sounds good!
Thank you for this documentary. âĪ One of the last relics was torn down over a decade ago. It was the Western Belmont overpass. It was developed to help relieve traffic congestion from Riverview.
I grew up in the suburbs and only went to Riverview twice, the second time being August 1966, just before I went off to college. I remember insisting to my date that we ride ALL the roller coasters at least once; in that one evening, we managed all of them, and the Bobs twice. A year later, of course, it was gone.
I appreciate the videos on Chicago history. Requesting video on Addison's Adventureland.
My parents and grandparents told me about Riverview Amusement Park.
They also told me about an amusement park called FunTown on the south side.
I have had the pleasure of riding the carousel at Six Flags over Georgia and it is a wonderful machine and well maintained. It is one of the few amusement rides that has such a rich history. It is even said to have been Al Caponâs favorite ride.
Another nice job! You know you are getting up there when you've been to at least 6 old school amusement parks that are just memories now. Ocean View was smallest but was in 2 movies, 4 of them passed close to when River View did. Miss them all.
No ride requirements and minimal restraints made rides exciting when you wanted to ride and terrifying when you HAD to ride the shooting star or wild mouse, hang on!
Great video Ryan! This one really hit me in the feels. Growing up in the Chicago area, I was born just a bit too late to take in Riverview, but I did visit Marriott's Great America (now Six Flags) many times and rode the Hometown Fun Machine, which is the Rotor ride you mentioned from Riverview, and I never realized that ride's history. These days, Iive too far from Great America to visit it that much, however, I'm pretty close to Cedar Point and go there a few times a year. I'd like to see a video about Cedar Point, as it is now one of the oldest continuously operating parks and has some tremendous history behind it - I've many great, wonderful and nostalgic memories from Sandusky too and I think that there is a ton of source material too to make an engaging video about that.
At the Illinois Railway Museum, we have a full-size billboard for Riverview, along with re-creations of their smaller advertisements inside many of our preserved CTA cars. They always bring back memories for the older Chicagoans who visit!
When they tore down Riverview our neighborhood was over run by rats. I was a kid whose family lived in a second floor apartment across the river (on Melrose and Washtenaw butting up to Grebe shipyard) and could easily see the parachute ride from the back porch. Once the rat infestation occurred it would be several years before the city got it under control. I was terrified to walk past the garbage cans to alley to walk our dog due to ratsâĶð
I was there on one of the last days, late Aug. 1967. I remember because when we pulled our car out of the lot, one of the parking attendants struck up a conversation with us, telling us it was closing. The reason it closed was it had just become too "shabby" ! Not kept up well, rides not open, workers untrained & uninterested, & so people had stopped coming... This wasn't helped by the "reputation" it had gained of being unsafe, & no longer "family friendly".
You really brought back memories with this episode. We visited Riverview many times and as I grew was able to ride on all the rides. It really made an impression on me watching Alladin's eyes rolling around, the Penny Arcade and the smell of the bumper cars! When I married, I started working at ComEd across the river from the old park. My sons graduated from the old Gordon Tech down the street from the old park. We still shop at the Riverview Plaza from time to time. I even have a copy of the old electrical diagram of the park hanging in my office that I found when we were closing the old California Ave. office. I couldn't forget Riverview if I wanted to. Keep up the great work!
Having lived in Avondale for the last decade, I've driven by where Riverview was thousands of times. I found out in the last few years that my Mom grew up traveling to the park from just south of South Bend, IN. And that my father-in-law grew up riding his bike down Belmont from Belmont Cragin to enjoy the park. They were both doing this in the late 50s and early 60s.
Hey Ryan, another fantastic video! I am a life-long Chicago-area resident, and I worked at Great America for two seasons in the 1980's. I was only 5 years old when they closed Riverview, and I feel like I missed out on something great. Oh, and a small correction...you said that Walt Disney's father worked at the World's Fair of 1983...I'm pretty sure that was in 1893! Keep the great videos coming!!!
That is awesome!ðĪĐ
Thank you for a great revival of a childhood memory! I was born and raised in Chicago moving away when I was 13. Every birthday from the time I was 6 or 7 was celebrated with family at Riverview. My father went to Lane Tech, so he was familiar with the park as well. I also frequented the skating rink often enough that I received a set of my own rink skates so I didn't have to pay fifty cents for skate rental most Saturdays of the month. Sad that the park had to close, it was a great place for generations of families.
the thing thats really sad to me is the fact these places are massive achievements of human engineering and creation for enjoyment that lasted 60 years just to be destroyed and replaced with crap,
My parents took my younger brother and me in the mid 60's. I remember I was too little to ride the bobs, but everything else was a wonder and a cacaphony of noise, light and fun. You picked great pictures because they all reminded me of sights from being an amazed 5 or 6 year old. I'm 64 now.
Growing up in GA I can fondly remember riding the carousel from Riverview park, thank you for covering this.
I Iast attended this park in 1966, one year before it closed. Fun, Fun, Fun..............I laughed my troubles away, just as Two-Ton Baker used to say!!!
My grandma has a painting of riverview in her basement that has been there since I can remember, I never thought to ask her what it was so i finally asked her last week and it has led me down a rabbit hole. I live super close by, just off of Belmont and itâs wild that Iâm just now discovering this
As a student of Lane Tech in the late 70's I would pass the remains pf the roller coaster tracks, knowing it will never come back. Progress....
I loved the place and went many times. I even had a season pass in 1961 which I added to a picture I have that was on sale at O'Hare years ago. It contains a lot of the pictures you have along with the tickets. Very well done video!
Sounds great!
What about âKidde Landâ in Melrose Park?
There's a lady that does regular presentations on kiddieland similar to this one. She's really knowledgeable. Can't remember her name, saw it on Facebook. It's on TH-cam.
Or the other kiddie land at Kimble and Lincoln in Chicago
I remember going to the park several times as a child.
I vaguely remember Riverview and going there a few times as a child. I heard rumors about why they closed it but some others has already spoke about it in code. I loved going to Adventureland as a kid and even Great America & Old Chicago when I was in high school.
1988 I lived at Belmont and Western when I wss pregnant. Shopping at Dominicks \ Toys r us. I'd walk there than my dad had newspaper clippings on River view.... I couldn't imagine an amusement park there...... Glad I came across this video.. ðĨ
I used to go to lane tech and this is crazyy I heard of this but finally to get a vid from the one an only Socash ðŠðŠ
Hey, I was there lot of times, even wrote to chuck & got his book, I got the video later. Cool photos. Stupid scared politicians ruin it all for chicago, especially that greedy lawyer who rather have a mall built. Look at all the big malls today, are they still around?
Was âTwo Ton Bakerâ the radio spokesperson for this amusement park? I seem to remember him.
Yes He was and He did TV commercials as well.
Crossover trivia: Directly across the river was Williams pinball manufacturing. Thus Comet and Cyclone. Bally was also nearby hence Fireball and Aladdinâs Castle.
My grandparents actually visited this park a couple of times and kept a portrait of all of the park's ride tickers. I currently have it hanging up on my wall.
These videos are wonderful. However they can't captor how wonderful it really was.
Chicagoland native and current Cincinnati-area resident here. Great video - your content is awesome.
Like many posting here, was born too late to experience Riverview but have heard plenty about if from my parentsâ and grandparentsâ generations. I remember going past the site during a car ride home from Wrigley as a kid, with Dad reminiscing about it.
I remember several trips to Kiddieland in Melrose Park as well as a park along Harlem in LyonsâĶAlso vaguely remember at least one trip to Old Chicago! Those would make good video subjectsâĶ
Cincinnati just lost the last vestiges of its old Coney Island amusement park, which started as a picnic ground on the Ohio in the 1880s. At its peak, Coney was a very big deal but it had entered a long slow decline decades ago with many rides long since removed. The biggest loss is the Sunlite Pool, one of the worldâs largest and a cool experience. It was big enough some of the guards used rowboats.
So itâs Kings Island for us nowâĶand every time I go, wonderful memories of Great America come along for the ride.
Born in 1949 and lived on Washtenaw and George Streets, spent much time there. Walking to school in the spring we knew summer vacation was near when we could see the parachutes being tested. Then about a week before the end of the season, they had a parade in the evening. Wonderful! Many companies like soft drink, food etc would distribute cards with free or reduced prices for admission and rides. Also discount days like Tuesdays or Thursdays.
When the 60s rolled around, groups of colorful youths roamed the park, robbing patrons. That was the blow that killed Riverview.
After Riverview closed down, those 'colorful' youths made their way to Adventureland.
Thank you for putting this history on Riverview. My parents took me there just once in the mid 50s. Though my Dad went there a number of times as a kid, my Mom decided that Kiddieland was a better choice for me to go on rides. So much that we went there at least once a month all during the spring summer and fall season. That was enough of an influence for me that I got my first job at Kiddieland in the summer of â67. The same year Riverview closed. I do remember seeing the park as we road the bus from Harlem Avenue heading east into the city, and the Riverview TV commercials with someone likeâĶFatty Arbuckle maybe doing the sales pitch? Iâm sure someone with a better memory may have that correct name.
Again thanks for this story.
I fondly remember going to Riverview when I was growing up in Chicago. It was one of the highlights of the Summer. I don't remember much about the park except one ride, a roller coaster that was trackless. If I remember correctly, it was like riding in a tube or chute. I wish I could remember it's name.
The Bobs
I was too small to ride the Bobs at 6, but loved the trip on the Armitage and Western bus to the park w/ my 5 siblings. No wonder I grew up w/ a love of coasters, The Flash and Wild Mouse being my first. My brother 10 years my sr., made the rides all the more terrifying. I still have a pair of won prizes, plastic dice, blue and maroon... about 2" diameter and one unused ticket dated 1964 I believe. When mom passed, we found 6 remaining unused tickets because the park had closed. Great America was a blast in the 70s and 80s :)
The Flying Turns. The Bobs was not trackless, but the best.
was a teenager in the 50's...most of the my summer vacations were spent hanging out and playing ball in Darwin Schoolyard...near Fullerton and Kedzie...and at least once a week a bunch of us would go to Riverview...was wondering why The Flying Turns weren't mentioned...a lot of people considered them to be the best roller coaster in the park....all in all though your doc is very good...keep'em coming...thanks.....
I only went to Riverview once about when I was 12. Neighbors took me and their kids. We rode the chutes with a tape recording â keep your hands in the boat, donât stand up in the boatâ, etceteraâĶpeople used it as a second tunnel of love while you were covered by the galvanized corrugated steel roofâĶwe rode the Wild Mouse which was fairly new, at least was the newest ride they hadâĶyou stated it was scrapped but I remember seeing tv commercials from Santaâs Village in Dundee saying they had itâĶmaybe it was another
I was only seven when Riverview closed, but my father had grown up going there so he took me a couple of times every summer from the time I was about four. I remember only a few things, primarily Aladdin's Castle (how can you forget that face?) and the shoot the chutes water ride (my favorite). In my baby book I still have a picture taken of me sitting on a crescent moon that was done at Riverview. I wasn't aware that the drop ride (which I think was renamed Tom's Twister?) was at Gurnee...I might have ridden that once, but having someone get off of it and barf on one does not encourage repeat riding!
wow. I have a framed picture of mom and dad sitting on that crescent moon you mention. Good times!
I attended Lane Tech but Riverview was long gone. My father and grandfather took me to Kiddeland in Lincolnwood and River Grove. The one in Lincolnwood closed first but the one in River Grove lasted into the 80s. My elementary school organized a trip to Marriottâs Great America on a Saturday the year it opened. I did ride the Cajun Cliffhanger a number of times over the years and didnât find out until years later why it was removed. I never made it to Old Chicago before it closed.
Kiddieland in Melrose Park lasted until 2009 surprisingly. I attended the last open weekend. Now it's a Costco sadly. I was at Old Chicago as a toddler and don't remember it.
Imagine going to a High School thatâs next to a massive amusement park.
I am going to be 72 this year (2024). When I graduated from elementary school, my mother took me and my brother and sisters to Riverview as a graduation gift and we stayed until it closed. The next year it was gone. Riverview continues to be a special memory for me.
My grandson's had old reel to reel movies that I used watch as a kid of them at Riverview Park, but they were destroyed years ago in a flood.
African Americans faced discrimination at urban amusement parks in other cities. In Louisville the amusement park was closed a couple years after it was integrated.
And what does a city the size of Chicago have now for an amusement park? Absolutely nothing other than the city is the largest outdoor shooting range in America. BAM!
We have Great America 40 mins north of Chicago.
Back in the day when kids could roam freely "till the street lights came on" when we had to go back home, my two sisters and I would borrow Gram's push lawnmower and go up and down the blocks to earn money to take two bus rides to Riverview. We'd buy candy at the store and stand at bus stops to resell it at a profit to make money to go to Riverview. I know some folks bought the sometimes melted candy cause we looked so poor (and we were) but happy kids. We'd go most of the time without adults and look on the ground there hoping to find unused ride tickets. We went very often and never had any danger or troubles. Still miss it - nothing like it since.
Luv the story of Riverview. My parents went there long before my life began. I do remember seeing alot of memories posted in a second hand thrift store in that area in my personal adventures. So many happy faces. If you can would you consider doing a video on THe Oid Chicago indoor amusement park? Thanks.
Absolutely LOVE your channel, keep up the fantastic work.. Watching this episode gotr me thinking about Palisades Amusement Park in Cliffside, NJ. Some of the few good childhood memories I have are from there. I used to live about 2 miles away from it & my grandparents & uncle would take me there in the 60's. It used to be just across the river from NYC & used to have lots of Celebrities' perform in the open air theater. Very sadly it closed, i believe in 1970 & they replaced it with ugly condo complex called Winston Towers. Any chance of doing a episode about the park someday? Thanks again for the great content you provide..
Your comment is much appreciated!:) thank you ð
Been there, done that, loved it!
My family settled in Calumet City in 1880. My mom and dad went on dates here all the time. She'd ride her bike, he'd ride his Harley..... They was heartbroken when they demolished it.
The Rotor was not bought by Great America. That is a common misconception. It was a common flat ride in the 1950s through the 1970s. Great America their own new one. The Rotor was scrapped with the rest of Riverview.
Nor is the park really within walking distance of an L stop.
@@Backroad_Junkie the Brown Line would have been pretty close
@@mdf3530 Closest station is Paulina (because of the way the tracks zig-zag there), and it's still over 1/2 mile. I suppose it's walking distance, but the 49 Western bus will stop right at Riverview's doorstep.
I remember we'd take the B train (now the red like) to Addison, and the Addison bus to Western. From there it was a couple blocks walk...
The park closed when George Schmidt got an offer for Six million dollars for the landâĶâĶtens of millions in todayâs dollars. It never lost money âĶ..and in fact invested in a brand new rollercoaster just two years before the owner sold out
My grandmother said you could win free groceries. & she said the roller coaster was so much fun. I canât believe I never knew this existed until TODAY! & I live near MidwayâĶ
I'm from Shorewood, IL, born in 1962, and I never went to Riverview. However, my family took my oldest brother, maybe in the late 40s, but more likely in the early 50s. (He was born in 1945.) The story is, he wanted to go on the parachute, and none of the adults were willing to go with him, so my mother finally gave in. She was only in her 20s then (she's 96 now).
Reminds me âĶ I LOVED Old Chicago.
Went there once - that disappeared so fast.
I worked on the Cajun Cliffhanger in the late 80's. That was one strange ride.
Whoa crazy how Walt disneys dad visited in the 1980âs!
I used to live a few blocks from the old site of Riverview, and only found out about it while looking into the story of Conway the Peg-Legged Killer Clown
My Grandmother told me a.story about "little Chicago " when I was a kid. She told me that once, when she was there , she got convinced into riding the Parachute Drop ride by a friend and the ride "malfunctioned" and the parachute stopped abruptly, breaking the cables away from the seat part she was in and it slammed into the ground. The manager or whoever was in charge wanted it swept under the rug and paid my Grandmother some cash and covered up the accident. She was told that because she took the payout she couldn't get a lawyer and sue the park? People were getting hurt left and right and some started faking injury just to get the payout and that is why the park closed down? They had a lot of problems in the late 40s early 50s.
I am 53 yo and I remember riding in the car and driving past the park and seeing the old Rollercoaster skeleton still standing? At least I think I do?
My uncle god love him took me to Riverview three times but unfortunately I was too young to enjoy the park at is fullest. Fortunately I have a lot of happy memories and yes please do a video on Adventureland.
My Father rode the ride where the floor dropped out. He lost his upper front teeth from a ladies elbow in the 50âs Father would drive to Riverview from the outside of Chicago by Midway airport when the airport was very small
Nice presentation. For some really good in depth Riveriview history, including its reasons for closing, there is an excellent book titled "Laugh Your Troubles Away-the Complete History of Riverview Park", by Riverview employee Ralph Lopez and the late Derek Gee, an expert on Riverview's History.
Very interesting Ryan, I never heard of Riverview.. I've been up there to 6 flags Great America in Gurnee, a few times... Never heard of Adventure land as well... Well except for in Des Moine, Iowa... Maybe I'll get to see that Carousel someday... My favorite carousel I think is.
The steampowered carousel... I believe it's the only one ever built, That's in Millennium Park Mt. Pleasant, Iowa,
Love your Chicago vids
We grew up with Marriot's Great America, not 6 Flags.
I used to take the kids up to the Dells, and there was one amusement park up there that claimed that they had the Bobâs from Riverview
My Mother worked there when she was in High School...and she took me and my brother a couple times,fun place.
Iâm sure that if this park remained open, then it would have suffered greatly when Great America opened
The world's fair in Chicago didn't happen in 1983. It happened in 1893.
yea used to walk there as a kid . from Irving park .
I miss the previous quote âItâs Historyâ theme- itâs like the show has its own bit of âlost foreverâ
P.S. Ryan its the other Coney Island the master pieces of beautiful amusements . The American playground. A place you can always write home about. god bless you and family have prosperous rest of the year !