Riverview Park (Chicago)
Riverview Park was an amusement park in Chicago, Illinois, which operated from 1904 to 1967. It was located on 74 acres (30 hectares) in an area bound on the south by Belmont Avenue, on the east by Western Avenue, on the north by Lane Tech College Prep High School, and on the west by the North Branch of the Chicago River.[2] It was located in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago's North Center community area.[3]
This article is about the former amusement park in Chicago. For other uses, see Riverview Park (disambiguation).Location
3300 North Western Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Defunct
July 2, 1904
October 3, 1967
- "Laugh Your Troubles Away!"
- "Chicago's famous Amusement Park"
Rides and attractions[edit]
Riverview was most known for The Bobs wooden 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 (Tunnel of Love), 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 (And Summer Nights!!). There were over 120 rides in the park.
Memorabilia[edit]
Many items from Riverview, as well as many paintings portraying the park, were on display at Riverview Tavern, located on the corner of West Roscoe Street and Damen Avenue from 2005 to 2018.[9] The Riverview Carousel continues to operate at Six Flags Over Georgia.[10] It was the only ride to be saved.
Bally and Williams tie-ins[edit]
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.[11] 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.