I REMEMBER RIVERVIEW AMUSEMENT PARK PART 1

A Short History of Riverview Park


The area around Western and Belmont Avenues in Chicago was settled largely by German immigrants in the late 1800s. The Der Nord Chicago Schuetzenverien, a spin-off group of the Kriegs Verein of Chicago, a group of Prussian War veterans, purchased the acreage bounded by the Chicago River and the above avenues in order to use it as a shooting range. They later changed their name to the North Chicago Sharpshooters Association. The 22 acre park was dubbed Schuetzen Park by the Germans, and Sharpshooters Park by the locals, who began asking the private club if their grounds could be rented for picnics.

Around the turn of the century, the Sharpshooters Association dissolved and two members purchased the land. They were Wilhelm (William) A. Schmidt, a baker, and his partner George Goldman. Schmidt and Goldman operated the park as a picnic ground until 1903, when Schmidt's son George returned from school in Europe. He suggested to his father that they add rides to the ground, in the style of some of the European parks he'd visited.
Wilhelm Schmidt
George Goldman
George Schmidt
William Johnson
A local lawyer, William Johnson, and a Pittsburgh banker named Joseph McQuade(no photo available) supplied additional financing in 1904 to turn Sharpshooters Park into a full-blown amusement park. The new park was dubbed Riverview Sharpshooters Park.
During the first couple of years, the major rides were the White Flyer (a figure-8 shaped roller coaster), and the Aero-Stat, better known to Chicagoans as the Strat-O-Stat.

 

History - 1907

 

Grand View Near Entrance
While the park was successful right from the start, the money to really expand the park into Chicago's premier amusement park came when Nicholas Valerius and Paul Cooper came into the company in 1907. That year alone, $550,000 worth of attractions were added to Riverview including the classic front gate, the Hellgate ride, and two roller coasters.



The first coaster was named the Top, because it was spiral-shaped like a top and the coaster trains revolved around it. As the trains went around it, the whole coaster structure wobbled like a top. The second coaster was the Velvet Coaster, named for its gentle dips.



In a new section of the park called Fairyland, Riverview built one of its signature rides, the Shoot-the-Chutes. Note in the picture at right, the Aero-Stat has not yet been moved from the front of the park to its later position next to the Chutes. This ride was immensely popular, and on busy days you could expect to wait a long time for a ride, with no re-rides permitted.
Valerius-Cooper
Velvet Coaster
Shoot-the-Chutes

 

 

 

History - 1907/1908

 

At the rear of the park, paralleling the river, Riverview began construction of the Marine Causeway, also known as the River Walk. During 1907, very little was on the Causeway, but during the 1908 season, Riverview added the sensational attraction, Battle of the Monitor & Merrimac, which was a re-creation of the famous Civil War naval battle. Also added in 1908 was a magnificent 5-row carousel, one of the largest ever built!
Monitor and Merrimac
Aero-Stat and Carousel
The Pikes Peak Scenic Railway was also added in 1907. See picture below.


In 1908, Riverview added two more roller coasters, the Aerial Coaster, which wrapped around the Monitor and Merrimac building, and the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway. The Aerial Coaster, also known as the Pottsdam Railway, can be seen above on either side of the Monitor and Merrimac.
The Royal Gorge Scenic Railway is below at right.
Pikes Peak Scenic Railway
Royal Gorge Entrance

 

 

 

History 1909-1919

 

In 1909, the park built its first Racing Coaster. The Derby, engineered by famous designer John Miller, was incredibly popular right up until its destruction by fire in 1932.
Derby 1911 Blue Streak
Throughout the rest of the teens, Riverview built at a frenzied pace. By the close of the decade, they'd built FOUR more roller coasters, the original Blue Streak, the Gee Whiz (aka Greyhound), the Jack Rabbit, and the Cannon Ball. The Blue Streak came first in 1911, followed by the Gee Whiz in 1912, the Jack Rabbit racing coaster in 1914, and the Cannon Ball in 1919.

At right top is the original Blue Streak coaster. Below right is the entrance to the Jack Rabbit.
1914 Jack Rabbit 1919 Cannon Ball

 

 

 

History - Roaring Twenties

 

Riverview continued to roar throughout the Roaring Twenties. No less than FIVE additional coasters were built in this decade. The first was the Big Dipper (aka Zephyr & Comet) in 1920, the Pippin (aka Silver Flash or Flash) in 1921, the Skyrocket (aka Blue Streak & Fireball) in 1923, the Bobs in 1924, and finally the Kiddie Bobs in 1926!
Big Dipper
Pippin
Skyrocket and Midway
Bobs First Drop
With the building of the Kiddie Bobs in 1926, Riverview would build its last coaster of the twenties. After the Great Depression began in 1929, Riverview would be unable to afford a new coaster. It would have to purchase one used in the thirties.
Kiddie Bobs

 

 

 

History - 30's & 40's

 

The effects of the Great Depression dramatically reduced the amount of money available for new attractions. To make matters worse, in April of 1932, workmen retarring a roof started a massive blaze that destroyed the Bug House funhouse, and heavily damaged the Derby coaster. The Derby was subsequently torn down, and the Bug House was replaced with a new funhouse, Aladdin's Castle.

Riverview had wanted to purchase a Flying Turns ride new from the manufacturer since its introduction, but was unable to come up with the funds to buy one. They were forced to purchase one used from the 1933-34 Chicago Worlds Fair after it closed. Riverview closed its large Kiddie Land, demolished the Kiddie Bobs coaster along with it, and moved the Flying Turns to the site. The photo shown here is an aerial view of the Flying Turns on the World's Fair midway.
Aladdin's Castle Flying Turns Aerial
In 1936, Riverview converted an old observation tower, the Eye-Full Tower (a corny pun), into a new ride, the Pair-O-Chutes. The Pair-O-Chutes was based on a parachute training tower invented for the military by Maj. James Strong. Riverview's was the first civilian tower in the US. Riverview's tower was copied by the 1939 World's Fair for their amusement zone, and that ride was later moved to Steeplechase Park on Coney Island. In 1939, a couple got married on the Pair-O-Chutes. For more details, see the book version of Laugh Your Troubles Away - the Complete History of Riverview Park.

Also during this time period, Riverview renamed the Big Dipper coaster to the Zephyr in 1936, and to the Comet in 1940. The Pippin coaster was renamed the Silver Flash in 1938, and the Skyrocket was renamed the Blue Streak in 1936.
Pair-O-Chutes Wedding Pair-O-Chutes Wedding
With the coming of World War II, money and materials for new attractions dried up, but because people were unable to travel much due to wartime gas rationing, people did continue to attend the park in large numbers. During the war years Riverview only added a few carnival type rides, most of which had been purchased used.

After the war ended, people suddenly got the travel bug and Riverview's attendance plunged sharply. Consequently, few attractions were able to be added until the 1950's.

 

 

 

History - 50's & 60's

 

During the 50's, the park added the Showboat in 1957, and a Wild Mouse coaster for the 1958 season. The Blue Streak coaster (aka Skyrocket) was remodeled into the Fireball coaster in 1959 by removing the first double-dip drop and making the drop go about ten feet underground. The Space Ride was added for the 1963 season, which allowed the patrons to cross a section of the park through the air.
Showboat
Space Ride
In 1965, the park demolished the aging Greyhound coaster, and replaced it with the new Jetstream coaster. A smaller ride than the one it replaced, it never paid off its cost due to the premature closing of the park at the end of the 1967 season.
Jetstream
In October 1967, it was announced the Riverview would not reopen for 1968. Chicago was stunned! After some discussion, it was decided not to hold a goodbye party due to the uncertain Fall weather, and the lack of ride operators, who had moved on to their off-season jobs. The reason for Riverview's sudden demise is simple. Greed. The land the park sat on was worth more than the park's revenue. It had nothing to do with racial problems or Chicago politics. For the full story, see the documentary video or the book version of Laugh Your Troubles Away - The Complete History of Riverview Park.

 

 

 

The Shoot-the-Chutes

 

Every couple of months or so, we will examine a featured attraction at Riverview. Here you will be able to learn more about different attractions ranging from the smallest sideshow to the large coasters.
One of the favorite attractions at Riverview was the Shoot-the-Chutes, known as the Chutes for short. While many patrons rode this thrilling ride, few knew how old the Chutes really was.

It was constructed in 1907 as an outside concession by the former owner of the Shoot-the-Chutes at Chutes Park, Chicago. Once Chutes Park went out of business at the end of the 1906 season, he needed a new home for his ride. Rather than move his existing ride, the concessionaire built a larger, more elaborate one.
In the early years of the ride, it had a large sign on top reading, "Ride the Chutes in Fairyland". A large monster mouth surrounded the tunnel which all riders had to pass through to reach the elevator to the top.
After a rehab in the 1920s, the sign and the monster mouth were removed. The beautiful globe lights that lined the outside of the Chutes were replaced with more utilitarian looking goose-neck lamps running down the center of the ride. The ride was just as thrilling though!

 

 

 

Double Whirl ride

 

The Double Whirl ride was introduced at Riverview in the 1906 season. It was a locally produced product, being made by the Double Whirl Manufacturing Company of Chicago. It consisted of SIX Ferris Wheels that rotated around a central pole, while the Ferris Wheels rotated vertically at the same time. Each Wheel had six benches that could accomodate two people, so the ride in total could hold 72 people.
The rights to manufacture the ride were apparently later obtained by C. W. Parker, a noted builder of Carousels, Ferris Wheels, and other carnival rides. Parker's main factory closed in 1926, with various Parker products continuing to be manufactured by Paul Parker until 1955.

 

 

 

Aero-Stat & Strat-O-Stat

 

One of Riverview's longest-lasting attractions was the Aero-Stat. Originally installed near the front gate, it was moved to the rear of the park around 1908. The original cars were changed in the mid-teens to ones that looked like biplanes. In the 1930's the park installed cars that looked like rocket ships and renamed the ride Strat-O-Stat.
Aero-Stat 96 Aero-Stat Patent
Strat-O-Stat

 

 

 

White Flyer Roller Coaster

 

One of Riverview's first attractions was the roller coaster named the "White Flyer". Built for Riverview's first season in 1904, it is a type of coaster called a "Figure-8" because the track design looks like a Figure-8 from above. This design was invented and patented in 1894 by E. Joy Morris, and apparently licensed to other builders as Riverview's was built by the Ingersoll Construction Company. Installed just inside the front gate, it had its first accident three days after opening, when a 25 year old man stood up and fell out of his car, suffering only a broken leg. The "White Flyer" is thought to have operated until the early 1920's.
Figure 8 Post Card
White Flyer Loading Station
The cars of this ride typically looked more like a traditional carriage than what we now think of as a roller coaster car. The photo below shows a car from the last surviving Figure-8 in the world, the "Leap the Dips" at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Stop by Lakemont and treat yourself to a ride back into the past!
Figure 8 side view
Lakemont Figure-8 car

 

 

 

The Flying Turns

 

After the closure of the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair, Riverview acquired the Flying Turns ride that had been featured on the amusement midway there. This thrilling roller coaster gave riders the feeling of being flight by running in a wooden trough instead of riding on top of track.
This popular ride lasted until the park's closing at the end of the 1967 season. A new Flying Turns based on the Riverview blueprints is being constructed at Knoebel's Grove Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
Flying Turns Aerial

 

 

 

 

Views: 1790

Comment

You need to be a member of E.FM Radio to add comments!

Join E.FM Radio

Comment by Boo on August 10, 2009 at 1:16am
I don't know how I read part 2 first, I will be back tomorrow night.......I thought I was at the park on part 2 .....this is really the park
Comment by Edie Antoinette on August 9, 2009 at 9:23pm
I have a part two to this with pics of the rides when I was going. That was a tragedy when they tore it down. I still think about it often.
Comment by Edie Antoinette on January 23, 2009 at 12:12am
It was a MOST fun place to be Sole. I was devastated when they tore it down. So many of my memories surround my fun at Riverview...so many memories.
Comment by Shelley "SoleMann" King on January 22, 2009 at 10:25pm
Ohhhhhhhh my, i just love stuff like this...I'm to tired to read it all, but look at those old pics, i bet this was truly a fun place to be...I need to highlight parts of old chattanooga....HMMMM/LOL

Latest Activity

Edie Antoinette left a comment for Old School C
"🤣🤣🤣...Treasure is our site."
Aug 23
Old School C left a comment for Edie Antoinette
"That's good to heat Mama Edie. I don't get here often but when I need to cool out to some…"
Aug 20
Edie Antoinette left a comment for Film Noir
"The Website"
Aug 19
Edie Antoinette left a comment for Old School C
"Hey Honey! What a surprise! I miss you! I'm doing fine. Still maintaining our oasis here even…"
Aug 19
Old School C left a comment for Edie Antoinette
"Hey there Mama Edie. It's been a while. Hope you are doing well. Just checkin witchya."
Aug 19
Film Noir updated their profile
Aug 16
Edie Antoinette commented on Edie Antoinette's blog post test
Jul 30
Edie Antoinette replied to Edie Antoinette's discussion WDCB FM Jazz-DuPage Illinois in the group Jazz Lounge
"WDCB Jazz-DuPage Illinois Pop Up Player"
Jul 1
Edie Antoinette posted a song

 play Summer In The City

Jun 28
Edie Antoinette updated their profile
Jun 28
Edie Antoinette replied to Edie Antoinette's discussion WDCB FM Jazz-DuPage Illinois in the group Jazz Lounge
"Many browsers have changed their settings to prevent autoplay, which may cause the WDCB player…"
Jun 26
Edie Antoinette posted a photo
May 28
Edie Antoinette posted a status
"Content ..."
May 7
The Steppin Zone updated their profile
Apr 22
The Steppin Zone and Jeanette Mack are now friends
Apr 22
JazzWorld joined Shelley "SoleMann" King's group
Thumbnail

E.FM - Black & White Photography

This Group Was Created To Focus On Black & White Photography. It Can Be Your Own Photos Or Any…See More
Apr 16
Edie Antoinette posted songs
Mar 15
Black Heritage was featured
Mar 12
Edie Antoinette liked Black Heritage's profile
Mar 12
Edie2k2 Radio updated their profile
Mar 11

Introspection

Entr'acte



  1. play Norman Brown — Night Drive
  2. play Norman Brown — Feeling
  3. play Norman Brown — Still
  4. play Miles Davis — miles 1
  5. play miles 2
  6. play miles 3
  7. play miles 4
  8. play miles 5
  9. play Marvin Gaye — I Met A Little Girl
  10. play Santana — 01 Singing Winds, Crying Beasts
  11. play Santana — 02 Black Magic Woman-Gypsy Queen
  12. play Mongo — 02. Afro Blue



The history of the Butlers/Raw Soul is dense, but for all of us music nerds, that's normal. It is not totally clear what year the Butlers actually formed but they released their first single in 1963 on Liberty Records. That single was "She Tried To Kiss Me" and another single followed on Guyden entitled "Lovable Girl." After the Guyden single the Butlers took a break not recording another record until the single "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" was released on the Phila label in 1966. The group also backed Charles Earland and Jean Wells on one Phila single ("I Know She Loves Me"). 


As you might be noticing, the Butlers were doing a fair amount of recording but not achieving much success. The group's recordings sold regionally but never had the promotion to make an impact on the national scene. After the single with Phila, the Butlers moved to the Fairmount label (part of the Cameo-Parkway family) and released a handful of singles, some being reissued singles of the past. The Butlers were with Fairmount for 1966-67 and then moved to Sassy Records. Sassy released the group's greatest single (in my opinion) "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" b/w "If That's What You Wanted." A copy of that 45 sold for just under $500 last summer on eBay. Even though that isn't that much in the world of record collecting--it's still a hefty sum. The Butlers released another single on Sassy ("She's Gone" b/w "Love Is Good") that appears to be even 
harder to come by then the "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" single.

 

The true history become a bit blurred here as the AMG biography states that the Butlers last record was released on C.R.S. in 1974 (". However, between 1971 and that single, Frankie Beverly formed a group called Raw Soul and released a number of singles. Some of the songs recorded by Beverly during this period are "While I'm Alone," "Open Up Your Heart," (both on the Gregor label) and "Color Blind." "Color Blind" was released by the Eldorado label and rerecorded by Maze. Beverly's big break came when Marvin Gaye asked Raw Soul to back him on a tour. Gaye helped Beverly/Raw Soul get a contract at Capitol. Beverly decided to take the group in a different direction, a name change occurred, and Maze was created. 

The above isn't the most complete history of Beverly but hopefully someone will know a way to get in touch with the man or his management because a comprehensive pre-Maze history needs to be done on Frankie Beverly (his real name is Howard, by the way). Below you'll find every Frankie Beverly (pre-Maze) song available to me right now ("Color Blind" will be up soon). 

If you have a song that is not included below, shoot it over to funkinsoulman (at) yahoo.com and it will go up in the next Frankie Beverly post (later this week--highlighting Maze). Also, if you have any more information please share your knowledge. The Butlers material has been comp-ed sporadically (usually imports) but the entire Maze catalog has been reissued and is available. 

Enjoy.  "She Kissed Me" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967) 
 
 "I Want To Feel I'm Wanted" (not sure which label or year) "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh" (Phila, 1966) "Because Of My Heart" (Fairmount, 1966 or 1967)
   
 "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" (Sassy, 1967)
   
 "If That's What You Wanted" (Sassy, 1967)
 



Frankie Beverly is one of those cats that has lasting power. He started in the music business doing a tour with doo wop group the Silhouettes and then formed his own group called the Blenders. The Blenders never recorded a single, Beverly wouldn't appear on wax until forming the Butlers a few years later. Along with Beverly, the Butlers included Jack "Sonny" Nicholson, Joe Collins, John Fitch, and Talmadge Conway.

Beverly would later enjoy great success fronting Maze and Conway would become a
well-known penning Double Exposure's
"Ten Percent" and the Intruders' "Memories Are Here To Stay." 
 While Maze is a phenomenal group, Beverly's work before that group will always stand out as his best (imo).

The Butlers produced tunes that most Northern Soul fans would kill for and Raw Soul gave the funksters something to pursue. If, by chance, you know of a way to get in touch with Frankie Beverly or his management, please drop me an e-mail. It would be absolutely great to do an interview with him about his pre-Maze work. He's still playing out, most recently doing a New Year's Eve show in Atlanta.
:: Funkinsoulman ::

Power...Through Simplicity ♪♫♪

Members

About

© 2024   Created by Edie Antoinette.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service