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RIVERVIEW MEMORIES RIVERVIEW PARK 1904 -1967 |
Riverview Park was located at the northwest corner of Western Ave. and Belmont Ave. on Chicago's Northwest Side. It was quite trip for a Southeast sider, whether by car or CTA. When Riverview opened on July 2, 1904, it was the world's largest amusement park. Located on 74 acres, the west side of the park was bounded by the North Branch of the Chicago River. To the north stood the campus of Lane Tech High School. 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. |
The Main Entrance |
This early postcard view from the North Branch of the Chicago River features a building which housed a Civil War exhibit called the " Battle of the Monitor and Merrimac". |
The entrance to the Silver Flash, one of Riverview's nine roller coasters. |
Below: The Silver Flash climbs the first hill. |
Below: The Pair-O-Chutes dropped you from a 212 foot tower, which was a North Side land mark. |
The Bobs was Riverview's most famous roller coaster. In this view, Train 2 rounds the low curve on the riverwalk. |
The Greyhound roller coaster was Riverview's longest and mildest. It was later renamed the Jetstream. |
An old postcard scene from the Shoot the Chutes. |
Aladdin's Castle was a favorite of Riverview visitors with its hall of mirrors, rolling barrel, and the Magic Carpet. |
The Carousel or Merry-Go-Round was installed in 1906. It featured 70 hand painted horses and four 11-foot high lover's chariots. |
Another postcard view of Riverview shows the riverwalk with the Shoot-the-Chutes, the Carousel, and the Flying Turns. |
A portion of the front dust cover from the book "Riverview, Gone But Not Forgotten 1904-1967". This photo history by Chuck Wlodarczyk was originally published in 1977and is no longer in print. Two more recent books have since become available: "Riverview Amusement Park" (2004) available from Amazon.com and "Laugh Your Troubles Away" (2008) available from Sharpshooter's Productions. |