Riverview Park (Chicago)


Riverview Park was an amusement park in Chicago, Illinois which operated from 1904 to 1967. It was located on 74 acres in an area bound on the south by Belmont Ave. on the east by Western Ave, on the north by Lane Tech High School, and on the west by the North Branch of the Chicago River. It was in the North Center community area and neighborhood on Chicago's north side.

Rides

Riverview was most known for The Bobs roller coaster. Other popular coasters were The Comet, The Silver Flash, The Fireball and the Jetstream. Aladdin's Castle was a classic fun house with a collapsing stairway, mazes and turning barrel. Shoot the Chutes, Hades, the Rotor, Tilt-a-Whirl, Wild Mouse, the Mill on the Floss, and Flying Turns were just a few of the many classic rides. "The Pair-O-Chutes at Riverview Park'll shake us up all day" is a line from the Beach Boys' song "Amusement Parks U.S.A." from their 1965 album Summer Days . There were supposedly over 120 rides in the park.

List of Rides/Attraction

RideYear builtYear closedManufactuer and ride typeDescription
Bobs19241967Wooden Roller Coaster
CometRoller Coaster
Silver FlashRoller Coaster
Fireball19231967Roller Coaster
The ride featured a steep drop that embarked into a tunnel.
Jetstream19641967Wooden Roller Coaster
Philadelphia toboggan company		Jetstream replaced the ride Greyhound. It was not as popular as some of the more wild rides at the park. Jetstream was demolished before it was paid off.
Aladdin's Castle1967Fun houseThe mirrors are reportedly at a dance club in Palatine.
Shoot the Chutes1967Water RideOld fashioned water ride
HadesFun house
The Rotor1967The Rotor was a spinning ride where the floor dropped out from under riders. They were then held to the wall by centripetal force.
Tilt-a-WhirlTilt-a-Whirl
Wild mouseWild mouse coaster
Mill on the Floss1967Previously named Thousand Islands but later became Mill on the Floss. In 1950 it was renamed to The Tunnel of Love
Flying Turns19341967Wooden Bobsled rideWooden bobsled run with steep turns. Moved from the Chicago World's fair in 1934 and opened the following season. Flying Bobs was removed with the park in 1967
19631967This ride lifted riders to the top of a tower before dropping carts attached to parachutes
Carousel19081964CarouselThis 70-horse carousel was built in 1908. It is a PTC carousel and is one of only three remaining five-abreast carousels known to exist. In 1967, it was purchased and moved to .
Coal-fired Miniature steam engine
Freak show1950sShowA show that featured Betty Lou Williams, the world's only 4 legged girl, and magician Marshall Brodien who would go on to play Wizzo the Wizard in the famous "Bozo Show"
Flying scooterLooks almost like a hang glider
Boomerang
Strat-O-Stat
The Calypso
Hot Rods1955
Ferris WheelFerris wheelFerris wheel
Paratrooper1960
Space Ride1963Sky ridea $300,000 sky ride.
Bump 'EmBumper Cars
GreyhoundRoller coasterWas replaced by Jetstream
The Tickler1910
Expo whirl1910
Witching Waves1910
Metrodome1911
Velvet Coaster19071919
Pikes Peak Scenic Railway1907
Racetrack1907

George Schmidt

The Riverview Park grounds were owned by George Schmidt, which initially served as a private skeet shooting range. Immediately across the street, on the east side of Western Avenue, was George Schmidt Motors. There, George Schmidt senior sold new Sunbeams and Hillmans and other British cars from the Rootes Group and George Schmidt junior raced his sportcar named the Li'l Stinker, a white Sunbeam Alpine convertible with a cute skunk in a yellow circle painted on the doors and bonnet.
"Big Bill" Haywood, the Industrial Workers of the World leader, once spoke here to a crowd of almost 80,000 people.

Current use

The former grounds are now home to Riverview Plaza shopping center, the Belmont District Police Station, DeVry University, a manufacturing company and Richard Clark Park, part of the Chicago Park District. The south end of Clark Park has a wooded area where many of the Riverview Park foundations are still visible and is currently used as a bicycle dirt jump and pump track park maintained by the Chicago Area Mountain Bikers. A sculpture entitled Riverview by local artist Jerry Peart stands in front of the police station.

Memorabilia

Items from the park are now quite valuable. Many items from the old park, as well as many paintings portraying Riverview in its glory days, once on display at its namesake, Riverview Tavern, located on the corner of West Roscoe Street and Damen Avenue from 2005 to 2018. The Riverview Carousel continues to operate at Six Flags Over Georgia. It and the Rotor were the only rides to be saved. The Rotor was moved to Six Flags Great America where it operated as Cajun Cliffhanger. It was removed after the 2000 season due to an injury on the ride.

Bally and Williams

The 1972, Bally Manufacturing Corporation pinball machine Fireball was named after the park's Fireball roller coaster. Also, Bally's Aladdin's Castle amusement arcade division was renamed from Carousel Time to honor the closed Riverview Park and the Aladdin's Castle funhouse. Bally's Aladdin's Castle pinball machine was also inspired by the same funhouse at Riverview. The 1979 Williams Electronics' pinball game Flash as well as their 1985 Comet was named after the park's roller coasters with these names. Bally Manufacturing Corporation and Williams Electronics, Inc. had their headquarters and primary manufacturing facilities just West of Riverview Park during the later years of the park's operating life.