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I called my grandmother to, among other things, talk about Riverview Park.
Riverview was a Chicago amusement park that opened in 1904 and closed 63 years later. I didn't really know anything about it myself, but the name struck a chord instantly. I remember seeing for years a frame on my grandparents wall that held ride tickets for many of the park attractions as well as a picture of the main entrance. When Curious City (a show/podcast that answers listeners' questions about the city of Chicago) did a piece on the park, I recognized the name instantly.
Curious City has created an online, interactive map of the park where you can click on rides or places and see pictures, watch movies, or hear oral history interviews about things like The Bobs (a roller coaster) and the picnic grove. It doesn't shy away from less savory parts of history either, with pictures of some of the freaks from the freak Show. They also discuss the history of "The African Dip," a dunk tank that, for much of the park's history, was known as "Dunk the Nigger". The people reminiscing about their experiences there are particularly interesting to me.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share the link to the map. This is the kind of oral history I find deeply appealing, and the format this public presentation of the project takes is so cool.
http://zeega.com/87757
My grandmother remembers some of these rides, and talked about goin gon the Pair-O-Chutes and into Aladdin's Castle!
Riverview was a Chicago amusement park that opened in 1904 and closed 63 years later. I didn't really know anything about it myself, but the name struck a chord instantly. I remember seeing for years a frame on my grandparents wall that held ride tickets for many of the park attractions as well as a picture of the main entrance. When Curious City (a show/podcast that answers listeners' questions about the city of Chicago) did a piece on the park, I recognized the name instantly.
Curious City has created an online, interactive map of the park where you can click on rides or places and see pictures, watch movies, or hear oral history interviews about things like The Bobs (a roller coaster) and the picnic grove. It doesn't shy away from less savory parts of history either, with pictures of some of the freaks from the freak Show. They also discuss the history of "The African Dip," a dunk tank that, for much of the park's history, was known as "Dunk the Nigger". The people reminiscing about their experiences there are particularly interesting to me.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share the link to the map. This is the kind of oral history I find deeply appealing, and the format this public presentation of the project takes is so cool.
http://zeega.com/87757
My grandmother remembers some of these rides, and talked about goin gon the Pair-O-Chutes and into Aladdin's Castle!