Which articles have you read or did you read? Five out of ten are amusement parks.
09) Hollywood Kiddieland on McCormick Boulevard and Devon Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (1949-1974) [33K]
By Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Richard "Dick" Orlando Biondi |
Hired in 1960, Biondi left WLS over a dispute involving the number of commercials on his radio show in 1963. Rumors and urban legends still persist that Biondi told an obscene joke on the air, which resulted in his being fired. Biondi returned to Chicago on WCFL (1000 AM) in 1967. In 1972, after a short time at WMAQ (AM), he left Chicago once again.
As the years passed, people confessed to setting up a date with a stranger via the Beep Line.
The Two Theatres Owned By John Thompson Ford (1829-1894). |
Ford's Opera House Stationary Header. |
John Thompson Ford worked as a bookseller in Richmond, Virginia. Ford wrote a comedy play poking fun at Richmond society. The farce was entitled "Richmond As It Is," and was produced by a minstrel company called the Nightingale Serenaders. It focused on humorous aspects of everyday life. This type of play is termed "observational comedy," which is exactly the type of humor that Jerry Seinfeld has used to established one of the most successful comedy careers of our era. He worked in management with the Nightingale Serenaders, traveling around the country. During his career, Ford managed theatres in Alexandria, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Charleston, South Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia.Ford was the manager of this highly successful theatre at the time of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He was a good friend of Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor. Ford drew further suspicion upon himself by being in Richmond, Virginia, at the time of the assassination on April 14, 1865. Until April 2, 1865, Richmond had been the capital of the Confederate States of America and a center of anti-Lincoln conspiracies.An order was issued for Ford's arrest, and on April 18, he was arrested at his Baltimore home. His brothers, James and Harry Clay Ford, were thrown into prison along with him. John Ford complained of the effect that his incarceration would have on his business and family, and he offered to help with the investigation. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton made no reply to his two letters. After 39 days, the brothers were finally fully exonerated and set free since there was no evidence of their complicity in the crime. The government seized the theatre, and Ford was paid $88,000 ($1.7 Million today) for it by Congress.
Sanborn Fire Map from 1894 - Western Avenue was the western border between former Jefferson Township and the City of Lake View - both annexed to Chicago in 1889. |
Details of Schützen Park/Sharpshooters' Park Sanborn Fire Map from 1894. |
Located on 74 acres in an area bound on the south and east by Belmont and Western Avenues, respectively, on the north by Lane Technical High School and on the west by the north branch of the Chicago River. |
Velvet Coaster. |
Riverview Sharpshooters' Park Merry-Go-Round. |
The Big Dipper, in the 1920s |
The Big Dipper, in the 1920s |
Riverview Park hosted a live radio show with Buddy Black called "Riverview Funtime" that aired on WGN-AM 720 in the 1950s. |
The intersection of Belmont, Western, and Claybourn Avenues, looking west on Belmont. Note the Riverview sign. 1960 |
1967 Riverview Park Ride Auction Advertisement. |
On the left: The tower ride was called "Expo-Whirl," which was installed in 1909 as a large swing ride. |
The "Expo-Whirl" Cars of the large tower swing ride. |
Deirdre Capone personally sent me this photograph of herself at Riverview in 1956. She is Al Capone's Grand Neice. The twin Ferris wheels, the Dodgem station, and the Flash roller coaster tracks are in the background. Deirdre personally told me how much she loved going to Riverview. |
ARTICLE: Removal of the "African Dip" Dunk Tank Game from Riverview Park in Chicago, Illinois. |
In the Foreground is the Grebe & Co. Inc. Shipyard. |
Riverview Park Clowns - Circa 1925 |
In the Foreground is the Grebe & Co. Inc. Shipyard. |
On the left is the Henry C. Grebe & Co. Inc. Shipyard on the Chicago River at Belmont Avenue. They built U.S. Navy Ships and pleasure cruisers. |
In the Foreground is the Grebe & Co. Inc. Shipyard. |
Riverview and Bally MFG Co. at 2640 W Belmont Ave, Chicago in the foreground. |
Photo by Walter Rieger |
Photo by Walter Rieger |
Photo by Walter Rieger |
Advertisement for Riverview Amusement Park, c.1930s |