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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Hillcrest (Amusement) Park in Woodridge (formerly Lemont), Illinois. (1952-2003)

Hillcrest Amusement Park was located at 11335 South Joliet Road in Lemont, Illinois. A dark wooden sign marked the entrance to the park, easily missed if you`re not specifically looking for it. It sat on 60 secluded acres, so far back from the view that most passersby didn't even know it existed.

About 60 acres of the old Stuyvesant Peabody estate in Lemont was purchased in the early 1950s by 42-year-old Richard Barrie.(who owned Storybook Park, pre-Adventureland, in Bloomingdale/Addison 1958-1961) Peabody had made his fortune in coal. The acreage Barrie purchased included a small lake.
Starting in 1952, Hillcrest Park had been a full-service outdoor catering facility specializing in private picnics, primarily for corporations, promising a good time and non-stop food for all ages. Rain rarely cancels picnics because the park has an elaborate underground drainage system that helps eliminate standing water. There were plenty of shelters to avoid canceling a picnic.
Owners Richard Barrie and Wayne Kurchina, also 42, then later his son, Rick, keep the entrance intentionally understated to avoid uninvited guests. A winding, single-lane, paved road leads picnickers back to the grove, where parking lot attendants check invitations before indicating a parking spot. They immediately booked it full for their first season with either private or corporate parties.


CLICK THE MAP FOR A FULL-SIZE VIEW.
Rides included a Kiddie Whip and a Merry-Go-Round with 4 horses across instead of three (Note: near each of the Merry-Go-Round benches were two stationary horses about 1/4 scale of the regular horses for toddlers and little children), a Helicopter ride, and a Bumper Car ride with 16 cars. The park also had a miniature golf course, a shooting gallery, basketball and volleyball courts, softball diamonds, a swimming pool, a bingo pavilion, a dance pavilion and horseshoe courts.
The authentic steam locomotive that beckoned eager picnic passengers was another ride from a bygone era. The steam engine required 300 to 400 pounds of coal for a full day of use. It took an hour to build up enough steam pressure in the boiler before it could pull the train. The train travels through the woods and around a lake. Two trains were operated to keep the train ride lines short for large picnics. The other train was a gasoline-powered locomotive.
In 1967 the main attraction arrived at the park, the Little Dipper wooden roller coaster holding 16 riders. This jewel of a junior coaster was purchased when Kiddy Town at Harlem & Irving Park Road in Norridge, Illinois, closed. The wooden roller coaster at Hillcrest Park was called a "Junior Bobs" and was manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The Little Dipper was so unusual that there was only one other in the U.S.; its sister park was  Kiddieland in Melrose Park. They had no idea how old it was when it was purchased for Hillcrest Park, but over the years, they rebuilt it... twice.
Entrance to the Little Dipper Wooden Roller Coaster.
Exit from the Little Dipper Wooden Roller Coaster.
The Little Dipper Wooden Roller Coaster.
The Little Dipper Wooden Roller Coaster.
Hillcrest Park closed on September 1, 2003, after a decline in corporate picnics and increased the value of the land it sat upon.  After the closure, the rides, roller coaster and park equipment were auctioned off, and the land was sold to a developer. 

The Little Dipper wooden coaster was bought and moved to a small amusement park in Wisconsin called Little Amerricka Amusement Park (formerly Little A-Merrick-A) in Marshall, Wisconsin (owned by a family named Merrick). The Little Amerricka Amusement Park is still open. The "Little Dipper" was renamed the "Meteor" and operational for the 2007 season.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

VIDEO
Take a ride on the "Little Dipper" roller coaster, now named the "Meteor" Little Amerricka Amusement Park in Marshall, Wisconsin.
Ride the "Meteor" from the first-person point of view.

The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.
The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.
The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.
The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.
The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.
The "Little Dipper" Roller Coaster at Hillcrest Park.

19 comments:

  1. My husband and I met at Hillcrest Park. I was a paramedic tending the bandaids on boo-boos, bee stings and sprained ankles; he, a police officer walking the grounds with a officer partner, keeping the peace. The day of our wedding, we were allowed into the unoccupied park to take pictures. We have one of our entire wedding party sitting in the Little Dipper. I came to find, years later, that the company my father worked for for 40 years used to hold their summer picnics at Hillcrest Park. I guess that's why it seemed so familiar. My heart and mind hold deep, warm and very fond memories of Hillcrest. We were sorry to see her go.

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    1. Hi Marie... I bet I know who this is... Enjoyed Hillcrest Park details for the most part. I did not know you met there,

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    2. And i wonder who was your awesome Rescue 8 partner?

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  2. My father’s company had a picnic there in 1973 or 1974. I remember that roller coaster. It was really cool sight.

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  3. My Father's Company also had a Company Picnic there - I remember it very well, I even have a few photos somewhere!!

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  4. I used to work there fulltime when I was 17-19ish. Cleaning during the week and getting the park ready for the weekend picnics. Then making food on the weekends. Depending on the size of the company, I remember making thousands of hotdogs. Christ Hospital was one of the largest. And they had a haunted house in the parking lot for a few years in the off season that I worked at too. Great memories. One year, before the last picnic of the season, all us kids who worked there, and all the people we invited (like 100 people) had a late night huge party without the bosses knowing. Got caught the next day because even tho we brought our own kegs we used 2 of the park's too and left one bag of garbage out. And the neighbors left messages about the music, noise, and rides going that elated. Can't believe that was 30 years ago.

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    1. My dad worked at Christ in the 80’s and we went to hillcrest many times. So many great memories

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    2. I worked there too. Great memories

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  5. The company my mother worked for, General American Transportation Corp (GATX), used to have their company picnic at Hillcrest every year. I always looked forward to it. My favorite rides were the bumper cars and the live steam train. I loved the smell of the coal burning and I will always remember the sound of the whistle blowing through the meadow! I wonder what happened to that train?

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  6. Wow, what wonderful memories of Hillcrest Park!
    Our parents purchased the Peabody estate barn and acreage that was in front of the park, connected to the exit road around the lake. Our Dad rebuilt the concrete and stone barn and turned it into the most wonderful home for our family of 7. We spent a lot of time over the years at the park. Most of us kids worked there as our first jobs. I remember working in the food, beverage, and frozen fudgesicle stand, as well as the petting zoo, rides attendant, etc. We were friends with and went to school with the children of the caretakers who had lived at Hillcrest over the years. I loved the pony rides and the train. We spent many summers collecting tadpoles and winters ice skating and playing hockey on that lake. The caretakers would use their tractor to plow the lake for skating (it was a very shallow lake). Many bonfires, marshmallows, and nighttime skating out there.
    Ahhhhh, the good ole' days of childhood! It made for the best memories ever!
    The best to everyone out there who has memories of Hillcrest Park, from one of the Larson's!

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  7. Larson's are you referring to the Lowman family? They were my in laws, Bill and Amy. A lot of good times there with Bob(my husband),Lou Ellen,Kay and Kirt.

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    1. I was just talking about the park and the Lowman Family the other day. Having my fathers work picnic there, every year, was like Christmas. The anticipation for the Packard Picnic was unimaginable for us kids. We had the best time, other than the bees, unlimited Fudgescicles, hot dogs, pop, popcorn, hamburgers WOW! We didn't see our parents all day, mom was at bingo Dad was playing horseshoes and drinking beer. We spent one New Years Eve at the farmhouse, invited by the Lowmans. I was young, but to me the house was big, beautiful and had a huge fireplace. The amusement park was such a huge part of our childhood, Thank You The Shulda Family

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    2. Was hillcrest park near CogHill Golf club off Archer Ave?

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  8. My Father's company Helene Curtis had their picnics there. It was the best fun for me and my best friend. We were never bored, between riding the Little Dipper a hundred times, we also played ski ball, bumper cars and road the train around the park while eating non-stop. Oh those were the days. Helene Curtis had great company picnics, something most companies just don't do anymore, sadly. Thanks for the Memories, I will cherish them the rest of my life!

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    1. Hello Anonymous! I know who wrote the Mon. Aug. 14, 2023 post, because this is your "best friend" that you mentioned in your post. Thank you so much for sending the link to this wonderful website. Golden memories, my heart is filled with joy seeing all the photos...memories flooding back. A simpler time: no cell phones; no emails to check; no cyberbullying, no one looking down to check their phones every 2 seconds, just old-fashioned fun. I consider myself privileged and blessed to have spent time at Hillcrest with you and your family.

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  9. My dad worked at lucent technologies in the '90s And we went a couple of years in a row. It was my first roller coaster and I absolutely love them now but I remember being obsessed with the steam train the most. To this day, I'm almost 30, if I smell anything close to the steam train it brings me back.

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  10. Went to Joana Fabrics picnic back in the 70’s. It was a blast. I live a couple miles away from there. They built giant storage warehouses on the site. Too bad it closed.

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