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| Mickey Doolin, Owner of Green Oaks Kiddyland. |
NOTE: These photographs were near impossible to find.
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| Identified as Mary Munson by Granddaughter Marci M. Harvey-Utes. |
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| A 1956 Kodachrome Photograph from Susanne Houfek. |
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Green Oaks Kiddyland, 95th Street and Crawford Avenue (now Pulaski Road), Oak Lawn, IL. (1946-1971)
Green Oaks Kiddyland (yes... it's spelled correctly), was an amusement park that was located on the southwest corner of 95th Street and Crawford Avenue (now Pulaski Road), was a major family entertainment site for the Oak Lawn area for nearly 25 years. It was also known as Green Oaks Playland.
Created by Mike "Mickey" Doolin in 1946, he began with only three portable carnival-style rides that sat on twenty-one acres, when it opened just in time for the season.
In 1955 the rides included; Airplanes, Army Tanks, Autos, Boats, Ferris wheel, Fire Engine, Hand Cars, Hobby Horse, Horse & Buggy, Merry-Go-Round, Roller Coaster, Sky Fighter, Train and the Whip.
Green Oaks Kiddyland was the largest entertainment venue in the Oak Lawn area at one time. It was closed in 1971 with 15 rides, when it was sold, torn down, and replaced by a Venture store (now a K-Mart).
NOTE: These photographs were near impossible to find.
The fire truck was used to pick up kids for private parties, at their house, and drive them to Kiddyland. The rest of the time, it was used as a ride in the park.
NOTE: These photographs were near impossible to find.
Lost Communities of Chicago - Swede Town Neighborhood.
Later: Little Sicily "Little Hell" Neighborhood.
Later Still: Cabrini-Green Neighborhood.
Chicago's first Swedish settlement emerged in 1846, when immigrants destined for the Swedish religious colony in Bishop Hill, Illinois, decided instead to settle in Chicago. The boundaries indicated for the oldest Swedish district seem very narrow. The examination of the census lists and city directories indicates that nearly all of the 27 Swedish families which, in the summer of 1850 when the census was made, had their homes in the 7th ward on the city's north side, lived within an area near the river bounded by Erie street on the north and Franklin street ("the east part of the river branch") on the east.
Swedish settlers in the river area were given notice of eviction by the real estate owners in 1853 or 1854. It has not been verified, but it seems credible in view of the industrial and commercial development of Chicago at that time. The areas along the river banks became quite important because of the city's growing industries, particularly after the opening of the Illinois-Michigan Canal, and of the first railroad, Galena-Chicago Union, in 1848.
Many of these earliest settlers came to work on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Although the Swedish settlement remained small for the next two decades, reaching 816 people in 1860 and 6,154 in 1870, it represented the largest single cluster of Swedes in the United States. During the 1870s, the Swedish population in the city doubled, outnumbered only by the German, Irish, and British immigrant groups.
As the Swedish settlement moved, the area north of the Chicago River on the Near North Side became known as "Swede Town." It was bounded by La Salle Street on the east, Division Street on the North, Chicago Avenue on the South, and the Chicago River to the west. A second, smaller Swedish area developed on the South Side in Douglas and Armour Square. The third grew on the West Side in North Lawndale. Smaller settlements also emerged in West Town and the Near West Side.
Swedes began leaving "Swede Town" after the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The process accelerated in the 1880s as more and more folks left these initial neighborhoods of settlement for less dense surroundings as the community became increasingly prosperous and worked its way up to Chicago's economic ladder. By 1920 Swedes dominated North Side neighborhoods such as Andersonville (also sometimes referred to as "Swede Town"), Lakeview as well as areas such as Grand Crossing and Englewood to the south. The nickname would reemerge in these new Swedish-dominated districts as the original "Swede Town" became Little Sicily also known as "Little Hell" and later still the Cabrini-Green Neighborhood.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Later Still: Cabrini-Green Neighborhood.
Chicago's first Swedish settlement emerged in 1846, when immigrants destined for the Swedish religious colony in Bishop Hill, Illinois, decided instead to settle in Chicago. The boundaries indicated for the oldest Swedish district seem very narrow. The examination of the census lists and city directories indicates that nearly all of the 27 Swedish families which, in the summer of 1850 when the census was made, had their homes in the 7th ward on the city's north side, lived within an area near the river bounded by Erie street on the north and Franklin street ("the east part of the river branch") on the east.
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| Chicago Swedish Family |
Many of these earliest settlers came to work on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Although the Swedish settlement remained small for the next two decades, reaching 816 people in 1860 and 6,154 in 1870, it represented the largest single cluster of Swedes in the United States. During the 1870s, the Swedish population in the city doubled, outnumbered only by the German, Irish, and British immigrant groups.
As the Swedish settlement moved, the area north of the Chicago River on the Near North Side became known as "Swede Town." It was bounded by La Salle Street on the east, Division Street on the North, Chicago Avenue on the South, and the Chicago River to the west. A second, smaller Swedish area developed on the South Side in Douglas and Armour Square. The third grew on the West Side in North Lawndale. Smaller settlements also emerged in West Town and the Near West Side.
Swedes began leaving "Swede Town" after the devastation of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The process accelerated in the 1880s as more and more folks left these initial neighborhoods of settlement for less dense surroundings as the community became increasingly prosperous and worked its way up to Chicago's economic ladder. By 1920 Swedes dominated North Side neighborhoods such as Andersonville (also sometimes referred to as "Swede Town"), Lakeview as well as areas such as Grand Crossing and Englewood to the south. The nickname would reemerge in these new Swedish-dominated districts as the original "Swede Town" became Little Sicily also known as "Little Hell" and later still the Cabrini-Green Neighborhood.
Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.
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