Roscoe Village, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Demolished 1967

My suggestion for places that no longer exist is Riverview Amusement Park in Chicago which, at the time, housed the largest downhill roller coaster in the world. I grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and we visited it yearly when I was a child, and it probably was the high point of my existence back then. Sheila H.

This is a theme park that was right in the center of Chicago (Belmont & Western) and was a favorite destination for my dad and his sister as kids. A classically dangerous mid-century children’s amusement park with rides that really make you question how our parents survived their childhoods. Anna P.

My mother Sharon Dobis recently passed away this past February. She always told stories of going to the old Riverview in Chicago starting when she was a child and continuing into her young adult years. She went on many dates there including with my father Richard (her husband of 63 years). Her favorite was riding the “Bobs” rollercoaster. Lori D.

Every year my downstate grade school would take the graduating class on a bus trip to Riverview. But it CLOSED the year before my class was scheduled to go. I never did get to go, and I have yet to get over this sad disappointment. Karen D.

Back in the 50’s, when I was a kid, my parents saved up and took me there for my birthday. We didn’t have any outings because money was tight so this was a special treat. I grew up in the Humbolt Park area and that park was where all us neighborhood kids went in the winter to ice skate on the pond. Anon.

Riverview Park was an amusement park in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago, which opened in 1904. It was owned by George Schmidt, who owned the car dealership opposite. His son George Schmidt Jr. was famous for his Li’l Stinker, a white Sunbeam Alpine convertible decorated with painted skunks. “Big Bill” Haywood, the leader of the Industrial Workers of the World, gave an address to a crowd of almost 80,000 people at Riverview. All of the over 120 rides, including its famous wooden Bob’s rollercoaster were demolished when the park closed in 1967, with the exception of the Riverview Carousel which continues to operate at Six Flags Over Georgia. The site is now home to Riverview Plaza Shopping Center, the Belmont District Police Station, De Vry University and Richard Clark Park. 

The painting is based on an uncredited photograph that looks as though it was taken in the 1950s.