The Return of The Chicagoist Reader Meet-Up
Cubs Combat Casino
Notre Dame Fan Takes It Too Far, Allegedly Punches Clausen
County Sales Tax Rollback Vetoed - Here We Go Again
PHOTOS: Peaches And Amanda Blank At Metro
Much like the Riverview Park of yore, Kiddieland is almost nothing more than memories now. This will be the final weekend for the decades-old amusement park in Melrose Park, and rather than dig back through old newspapers we thought we'd take a look at the place that will very soon be history.
Next weekend will see a closing ceremony on October 4th, and high bidders on the "final ride" auctions going on currently will line up to take their last trips on rides like the Big Dipper, The Log Jammer, The German Carousel and the The Merry-Go-Round. After that, Kiddieland will be committed to the past - but thankfully, plenty of leadtime means that we have a number of digital shrines established. Sites like Kiddieland's own history page and Memories of Eldridge Park have excellent information, and there are plenty of digital representations of the park thanks to flickr users like these. Additionally, after the jump, take a spin through some commercials for the part through the years, and a nice collection of clips from the Chicago History Museum collection.
Vanishing Chicago: Kiddieland's Last Ride from Chicago History Museum on Vimeo.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Very nice post Karl. I remember those Dad and son commercials from when I was a kid.
We went to Kiddieland with our day camp as a kind of end of summer party. The thing I loved about it as a kid was how many rides you could get on in a day. Great America trips are usually half waiting in line. If there was a line at one ride in Kiddieland you just ran to another.
I'm a nut for carnival rides (the tilt-a-whirl, flying bobs) as the 20 second mega coasters usually leave me cold. The rides at Kiddieland were about having fun, not having the holy crap scared out of you or serving as some kind of motion-based ipecac.
Sad to see it go, I hoped to take my own kids there one day.
Admittedly, the closest I ever got to Kiddieland was driving past it, but when I was watching those clips before putting them in the post, I did get hammered with a wave of nostalgia.
If we lost the "more than cooooooooooorn in Indiana" commercials I'd probably feel the same thing and I've never been there either.
Did you see the Tribune piece about the closing? Seems that some faction of the owning family wants to put the land to "better use".
Something about hearts three sizes too small comes to mind.
So easy for you to say, completely detached from the whole situation. Attendance at these parks is not what it used to be, with many kids choosing to play video games instead. Do you really expect the family to keep working to run the place as a public service? You probably do, and I'll bet you would be happy to help them and volunteer your time, right?
Oh, if only you were running the world. It would be a much better place. Kiddieland would be forced to remain open and the owners would be forced to continue running it.
Log Jammer? Like, Big Lebowski?
Our last visit to Kiddieland this summer was bittersweet. We've only discovered it 2 years ago, but my 2 kids that are old enough to remember (2 yrs and 4 yrs) were anxiously suggesting we visit Kiddieland as soon as the weather started warming up. My 11-year-old also remarked that his favorite thing we did this summer was our last day at Kiddieland. It really is a shame that a place like Kiddieland has to close. Honestly, the real estate can't be worth that much in that area.. Land further out west in towns like Rockford would be cheap and I'm sure would draw enough of a crowd to be worth it. I hope there is still a chance for the park relocating in one piece.
I've put together a tribute page you may enjoy seeing. I'd be honored for people to sign the guestbook and thank Kiddieland for the memories.
http://www.squidoo.com/kiddieland
So easy for you to say, completely detached from the whole situation. Attendance at these parks is not what it used to be, with many kids choosing to play video games instead. Do you really expect the family to keep working to run the place as a public service? You probably do, and I'll bet you would be happy to help them and volunteer your time, right?
Oh, if only you were running the world. It would be a much better place. Kiddieland would be forced to remain open and the owners would be forced to continue running it.
Yawn.
I'm sorry, we're you talking? All I heard was white noise and references to socialism and a baby trapped in a loveless family.
Oh, that was you. Shoulda guess. Apologies.
Oh, Masked Marauder, you must be one of the heartless family members...or at least "three sizes too small" family members. The fact is Kiddieland is not declaring bankruptcy but is being forced to close down after decades of success. Keep blaming it on video game playing children if it makes you feel better, honey.