Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street in Forest Park, IL. I choose this photo as to show what the main gate and the ballroom was like (L to R). The tower you can see was where normally the manager of the park lived in. Wow, pretty nice! Nice perks to have! I never seen one like that today at any amusement parks! Room 33 at Disney World? Nope. It is not the same. Anyway, Both places designed by a noted Architect E.E. Roberts. But I am not sure if he designed the rink but likely. Source: Digital Research Library of Illinois Journal.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. This was the map of the park back then. Drawn by someone. Likely AutoCAD and MS Paint with PDF. Anyway, the roller rink is seen on southeast corner of the property. near the road and the cemetery. Source: Digital Research Library of Illinois Journal.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. This was the map of the park back then. Drawn by someone. Likely AutoCAD and MS Paint with PDF. Anyway, the roller rink is seen on southeast corner of the property. near the road and the cemetery. The first photograph you saw with the ballroom and the tower, can find that on the map if you were to stand between rink and ballroom looking toward Northeast corner. Source: Digital Research Library of Illinois Journal.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. This is currently what it is like now. A train station and right on the right, just partial is the new Forest Park. No, it is not an amusement park but a recreational park now with sports including softball, football, tennis, fitness, and a skate park that replaced the old rink that was in Forest Park Amusement Park. Also you can notice this Blue hockey rink size on the map photo happens to be Roller Hockey rink! That is nice of Forest Park to have the rink set real close to the original location-- just cross the street! Source: Google.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. Newspaper article stating the park is doing well. Source: The Chicago Eagle - About the park July 4, 1908.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. Newspaper article stating the sheriff's deputies raided the park. It was one of many times. Source: Forest Park Review June 4, 1921. Digitally remastered by Dead-Rinks (clean up, removed spots).
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. Newspaper article stating the park will not reopen. Source: Forest Park Review, April 21, 1923 Digitally remastered by Dead-Rinks (clean up, removed spots).
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL. Newspaper article about this lady who is a writer rode this dangerous roller coaster. Source: Forest Park Review - September 26, 1973.
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink
Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL
Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL
Forest Park Amusement Park Skating Rink Desplaines Avenue & West Harrison Street, Forest Park, Illinois. Before the amusement park, it was Harlem. The town still exist but the address was in Forest Park hence the name, Forest Park. The park began in 1905 when they planned the park.
It was Financier Oliver L. Brown had formed the Beach Amusement Company with the intent of building a magnificent resort on the lakefront in Chicago. Often people like to be by the lake. But, the people on the West Side of Chicago wanted a summer resort in their own convinced Oliver L. Brown to select a site far from the lake. They focused on the corner of Desplaines Avenue and West Harrison Street in what was then the suburb of Harlem. Oliver Brown was said to hire Franc R.E. Woodward, who made White City Amusement Park famous, to do publicity and promotions. Oliver also hired H.E. Rice, the owner of the Globe Theater in St. Louis, to oversee construction. And hired the New York firm of Kirby, Pettit & Green, the same architectural firm that designed most famous Coney Island, would build the park in a combination of Moorish, Arabian, and Renaissance styles at cost of 1,300,000 USD. That would translate into 40,329,988.64 USD (today on 22 August 2021). Now that is cheap because today theme parks are usually in a ball park above 1 Billion US Dollars.
Moorish and Arabian design were very popular style at the time between say 1890 and 1920 and that style changed to Art Nouvenu.
The opening was set for May of 1906. However, there was a huge opposition by Christian churches because of the cemeteries were right next to the park. 50 churches preached or spoked about this on a Sunday in January 1906. This stalled the park process of construction.
Apparently that plan collapsed with this original company because of the protests. However, the following year, A new Forest Park Fair Grounds Amusement Company was founded by area politicians and people involving with liquor. . President James J. Gray was a former assessor and circuit court clerk; Vice-president Henry Maiwurm was head of the State Liquor Dealers Protective Association. Treasurer A.E. Winterroth was a Forest Park florist and local agent for the McAvoy Brewing Company; secretary and general manager Joseph Grein was a former state representative and Chicago city sealer.
They had no amusement park experience. Quite apparently from my educated guess and my opinion as my disclaimer, it was all about money. But who knows.
Then the village of Forest Park granted permit to operate for ten years. The park was to be completely built by May 30, 1908, at a cost of 1 Million USD which is lower than the original plan. The budget included 300,000 USD from the Forest Park Fair Grounds Amusement Company and 700,000 USD coming from concessionaires.
For one more time, the Chicago Lutheran Synod protested the building of a park next to the Waldheim, Concordia and Forest Home Cemeteries. On Sunday, 23 February 1908, all forty German Lutheran Churches in Chicago adopted the resolution of protests. At the same time, the Forest Park women were going door-to-door in the suburb, getting signatures on a petition in favor of the proposed park and condemning the cemeteries and churches as non-taxpaying "meddlers." This time, the Synod failed, and park construction went ahead as planned.
The formal dedication or known as soft opening was on 22 March 1908. There were so much Interest that they added "Chartered" trains on the Metropolitan and Lake Street “L”s, the A&E, and west side surface lines. Between 5000 and 10,000 people attended on the opening day. However, in April, a local referendum threatened to turn the new park dry (remember who were running the amusement park--the politicians and the alcohol related people!). The Anti-saloon (and pro-cemetery) forces in the neighboring dry village of River Forest saw the vote as a way of stopping the unopen amusement park. Despite a concerted effort, the dry forces were defeated. It was possible that it may have been a new newspaper, the Forest Park Weekly News, edited by "F. R. E. Woodward of the park's publicity department." as an "organ of Chicago brewers and the local saloon interests." You can see it was all tied in politically called, Corporatism.
Politics played major role in this park. Read on and you will see how dirty politics it gets as you read above too. Chicago... a hundred years ago.
The new amusement park had an agreement to get its electricity from the Sanitary District instead of the main commercial power company in Greater Chicago (utilities are the only Socialism or Centralized Government controlled in the United States), and local electric companies fought hard to prevent this. So on opening night at 11:15 o’clock pm in March 1908 (gets dark around 6 pm), there was a sudden surged and the crowded park went dark. Staff had to use lanterns to guide people exit the park safely. They suspected that it was sabotage due to the many threats and obstacles by the main power company put in the way of the district bringing power to the park. I believe that is illegal. It was illegal. In today's world, that would be terrorism.
Of course as portrayed in the movies and real life stories such as infamous mobster Al Capone and the mafia in Chicago, this is why we view Chicago as dirty and this was evident.
But then a 68 MPH wind storm (Gale) damaged the park which was supposed to open the next day (May 28) for the first time. Chicago is famous for windy weather. While the article mentions damages across much of the Chicago-land area, the Forest Park Amusement Park had damages. 20,000 USD (in 2021, over 500,000 USD) in damages, Damages include rides, buildings, park transportation, and power supplies, though no construction worker or administrative official there that day was hurt. The roller coaster was not yet done construction did not have any structure braces and the wind blew it down. Does that remind you of the Three Little Pigs story?
They finally opened in a week. June 4th.
But by the end of June that year, everything was running smoothly, and patrons from all over Chicago's West Side flocked to the new Forest Park. Its main buildings were designed in Art Nouveau style, by E.E. Roberts, a popular Oak Park architect of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School, and thus its architecture was the most distinctive of any parks since White City Amusement Park. Particularly impressive was the park's entrance, between two towers each over four stories tall.
I wonder if the rink was designed by him. That is a good question. I always wanted to know who designed most roller rinks but quite rarely I find rinks designed by some architect. (Actually as of 22 August 2021, only about 5 designers or architects designed as many as 20 rinks out of 3000 rinks I profiled so far.)
In 1909, Paul Howse left White City Amusement Park to replace Thomas W. Prior as manager of Forest Park. who was the manager just for a year. Thomas Prior is known to do that often as he managed each park for a year. But Paul Howse is known well and wise move because he founded the White City Amusement Park and operated for 4 years. He just wanted to step lower and get more involved with the park operations than just signing names as an operator.
At the rink, There was a palm garden café and soda fountain in the middle of the rink which was an oval, 1/8 mile long oval with a 25-foot wide skating surface. That translate to 660 feet long, 25 feet each side and each end making the center at 25 feet by 610 feet long for the Café.
Forest Park had a roller rink when it first opened in 1908, but the concession had been removed soon after due to poor sales. They closed soon after that. With roller skating a revived fad, Paul Heinze revitalized a new Roller Rink adjacent to the park swimming pool in 1915. That reincarnation had ran from 1915 to the end of 1922.
By 1915, the skating rink had speed skating events.
But The Forest Park Fair Grounds & Amusement Company (renamed) files bankruptcy in 1915. A new Forest Park Amusement Company (unrelated to the original) was organized for the 1916 season.
In March 1918, the company owning Forest Park was reorganized, for the second time in three years. It became Amusement Exhibition Company.
By July 20, 1918, the park seemed to be enjoying the same kind of record season as Riverview Park and White City Amusement Park. Manager Paul Heinze reported most concessionaires already assuring him they would book with the park again for the following year. Just five days later, a fire destroyed 1/5th of the park.
The huge fire broke out at 3:30 am in the boiler room of the pool house in the morning of Thursday, July 25, 1918. The fire quickly spread to adjoining structures on the south side of the park. It was discovered by a park policeman who hurried to the home of Paul Heinze in the front gate towers. As the alarm was sounded, Heinze's eldest daughter, 16-year-old Marga, hurried to the burning stable on the south part of the grounds and led out her pet Shetland pony, Daisy, at risk to her own life.
At first, it was feared the entire park would go up in flames, as the fire, starting at the covered swimming pool had cut off the park's water supply. With the Sanitary District's powerhouse and lighting station also among the first structures burned, the combined lack of power and water hampered firemen for nearly two hours. The fire departments of Oak Park, Austin, and other suburbs were summoned to help, and a crowd of residents hurried to the scene to assist, but with no water, they could only confine the fire, not fight it. Valves were finally reached and opened, and more water pumped in from neighboring Oak Park; an "especially heroic effort" saved the Ballroom, first thought doomed.
But the south end of the park was not so lucky. The fire completely destroyed the park's rink (with 5000 skates and a large orchestrion), swimming pool (with 8000 bathing suits), the Sanitary District substation, a big new freak show scheduled to open that afternoon, a skeeball alley, 400-1000' of the Giant Safety Coaster, the Terror on the Ocean, and the entire Leap the Dips coaster. A Japanese tea room, a bowling alley, a Chop Suey restaurant, and two ice cream parlors were damaged by water and smoke. Almost unbelievably, it was reported that the fire was still raging at 7 am while Paul Heinze announced that Forest Park would open as usual at 1 o’clock in the afternoon ─ Yes, Paul actually opened he park when the fire died down at those areas. Visitors took great interest in the newest attraction, the huge area of charred remains, while the rest of the park operated as if nothing had happened. Incredibly, Heinze promised that all ruined attractions would be replaced or repaired by Monday, July 29th which was just five days later.
Did Paul Heinze kept his promise that it would be rebuilt in 5 days? I have no records from those sites saying they were rebuilt.
Forest Park stayed open until the end of the season. Rumors flew that the fire had been German sabotage or, even more mysteriously, a revenge plot.
In 1920, the first blow to the park was the passage of Prohibition. From the very beginning, the amusement park had been connected to beer and liquor interests;
After years of leasing the 12 plus acres on which the park was located, the Forest Park Amusement Company finally purchased the land at the end of 1920.
But in 1921, several problems rose besides the alcohol beverages banned, there was a fire at the tower where Paul Henize used to live and then the mayor refuse to issue operating license because of illegal gambling were operating at the park. the City Council denied the park's permit to operate. At first, it looked like the park would not be able to open Wednesday, May 18th, however, that very day, the Superior Court granted an injunction, allowing the park to open that night. Attendance and weather were both reported to be good.
The park lawyer, a Mr. Soelke finally prevailed, and the Council granted the park's license. Everything points to the park in decline.
In 1922, Forest Park's Mayor Kaul tried to prevent the amusement park from opening. At a City Council meeting that May, he stated he had been opposed to the park for 5 years. The park hadn't kept its word from their guilt in 1921 that there had been gambling; the rides were not safe, in his opinion. Furthermore, the park should never have been granted a license, as it was too close to the cemeteries on Desplaines Avenue. 'Village Commissioner Fietsch commented that the people of the suburb were all for the park, judging by the way they asked for passes. The license question was voted on, the Mayor saying No, Commissioners Wendt and Fietsch voting Yes. The license was granted for another year.
Forest Park closed its gates as usual that September. Though no one knew it at the time, those gates would never open again. 1922 was the final season.
On April 21, 1923, the following year, the park's Board of Directors voted not to open Forest Park that year. Prohibition was cited as the reason for shutting down. As the Forest Park Review put it, the amusement park "gave up after a two-year diet of lemonade."
1924, the park grounds were purchased for $110,000, forty thousand less than the park company had wanted. By 1925, that true purchaser was said to be Chicago utility magnate Samuel Insull.
Since 1923, the vacant grounds had been frequently used for picnics, and the still-standing Ballroom still used for dances held once or twice a week in the winter months.
In October 1926, the Gate Towers and the Ballroom were finally razed. It was announced at this time that the A&ERR had no immediate plans for the land, and no depot would be built for the electric line to Westchester as originally rumored. In 1929, the stock market crash and the ruin of Insull's companies put an end to any further plans he might have had for the site, not, however, before the park's old swimming pool, still used by local kids till then, was condemned as unsafe, and destroyed.
With the demolition of the swimming pool, it was assumed that the last trace of Forest Park Amusement Park had been erased. The land sat mostly vacant for two decades, throughout the Depression and World War II. Then, in the 1950s, it was announced that part of Chicago's new expressway system would be built through the old park site. As workmen excavated the location, strange concrete tunnels were found beneath the ground. A half-century after they had been built, the road crew had unearthed the true last remnants of Forest Park Amusement Park; the tunnels of the old Pneumatic Tube ride.
Today, the concrete canyon of the Eisenhower Expressway cuts across the south half of the old park, many feet below The northern part of the park is a train station.
The Interior.
There was a palm garden café and soda fountain in the middle of the rink which was an oval, 1/8 mile long oval with a 25-foot wide skating surface. Shortly after, they removed the concessions from the rink as sales were very poor. That was the original rink in 1908 but the revitalized rink in 1915 was quite different. It had 8000 pairs of skates.
The 1/8th according to the thesis essay and from the library I read, that 1/8th of a mile means 660 feet long! That was huge! That should have been considered the World's Longest Indoor Roller Rink. But very narrow each side which made up the difference. Perhaps on each ends were 25 feet making the 25 Feet by 610 Feet center for the Cafe and Concessions. with seating. The center with the Cafe was just 15,250 SF. Enough room to eat at the Cafe. Likely they had a walk bridge over the rink. The rink which was quite long and narrow would balance out to almost as NHL rink (17,000 SF). The rink in question had 17,750 Square feet! Just 750 Square Feet more than a NHL rink. The International/Olympics Hockey Rink is 19,620 Square Feet. I do not have any interior photos of the rink.
The final rink was burned by fire.
The Exterior.
Art Nouveau style building that had posts on each wall and every 25 feet cross section because the rink width was merely 25 feet wide on each side plus about 25 feet wide center for the café and concessions. They were all wood. The exterior was a bit corny look with huge words and prices for the rink. Looked a bit chaotic. It had a ticket booth outside of the building with a stand with the admission price of 10 US Cents.
Because of the fire in the boiler room in the poolhouse and the inablity to fight fire with not working water pumps, the rink burned.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 75' x 660' (Center is counted which is not a rink but a café) Floor: Non-painted, clear coated Maple. Floor Layout: Likely Log.
Building Size: Over 660 feet long! Over 75' wide. Built/Renovations: 1908 Demolished: Thursday, July 25, 1918, 3:30 AM by wide spread fire from boiler room house for the heated swimming pool.
Type of Building: Art Nouveau Posts/Columns Wood Trusses Wood - Walled Fun house - like Building.
Roof: Mixed.
Acres: 12.3333.
Organ: Orchestrion Organ (1915 to 1918).
Skates rentals: 5000 pairs (1915 to 1918).
Architect: Eben Ezra "E.E." Roberts (Possible).
Operated: (Overall)-- March 22, 1908 (dedication/soft opening), June 4,1908 (delayed due to storm damaged to park) to Late 1900s or early 1910s. Reopened May 1915 to Thursday, July 25, 1918, 3:30 AM.
Reason for Closure: First time closure due to downturn of roller skating and café was already removed shortly after first opened which hurt the rink. The second closure, the wide spread fire from boiler room house for the heated swimming pool (1/5th of park burned down).
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, size of rink (2nd rink sizes needed, Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources:
US Dollar inflation adjusting - from 1905 to 22 August 2021.
Digital Research Library of Illinois Journal - Forest Park Amusement Park
Living History of Forest Park PDF. 38 pages!
Encyclopedia of Chicago - Bit about the park.
Forest Park History - About the park.
The Chicago Daily Tribune - “10 Minute Storm Cuts Path of Ruin,” The Chicago Daily Tribune LXVII, No. 129 (May 29, 1908).
The Chicago Eagle - About the park July 4, 1908.
Date of issue: 22 August 2021.
For office use only: 8 (4n, 1g,)
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 and 16.
It was Financier Oliver L. Brown had formed the Beach Amusement Company with the intent of building a magnificent resort on the lakefront in Chicago. Often people like to be by the lake. But, the people on the West Side of Chicago wanted a summer resort in their own convinced Oliver L. Brown to select a site far from the lake. They focused on the corner of Desplaines Avenue and West Harrison Street in what was then the suburb of Harlem. Oliver Brown was said to hire Franc R.E. Woodward, who made White City Amusement Park famous, to do publicity and promotions. Oliver also hired H.E. Rice, the owner of the Globe Theater in St. Louis, to oversee construction. And hired the New York firm of Kirby, Pettit & Green, the same architectural firm that designed most famous Coney Island, would build the park in a combination of Moorish, Arabian, and Renaissance styles at cost of 1,300,000 USD. That would translate into 40,329,988.64 USD (today on 22 August 2021). Now that is cheap because today theme parks are usually in a ball park above 1 Billion US Dollars.
Moorish and Arabian design were very popular style at the time between say 1890 and 1920 and that style changed to Art Nouvenu.
The opening was set for May of 1906. However, there was a huge opposition by Christian churches because of the cemeteries were right next to the park. 50 churches preached or spoked about this on a Sunday in January 1906. This stalled the park process of construction.
Apparently that plan collapsed with this original company because of the protests. However, the following year, A new Forest Park Fair Grounds Amusement Company was founded by area politicians and people involving with liquor. . President James J. Gray was a former assessor and circuit court clerk; Vice-president Henry Maiwurm was head of the State Liquor Dealers Protective Association. Treasurer A.E. Winterroth was a Forest Park florist and local agent for the McAvoy Brewing Company; secretary and general manager Joseph Grein was a former state representative and Chicago city sealer.
They had no amusement park experience. Quite apparently from my educated guess and my opinion as my disclaimer, it was all about money. But who knows.
Then the village of Forest Park granted permit to operate for ten years. The park was to be completely built by May 30, 1908, at a cost of 1 Million USD which is lower than the original plan. The budget included 300,000 USD from the Forest Park Fair Grounds Amusement Company and 700,000 USD coming from concessionaires.
For one more time, the Chicago Lutheran Synod protested the building of a park next to the Waldheim, Concordia and Forest Home Cemeteries. On Sunday, 23 February 1908, all forty German Lutheran Churches in Chicago adopted the resolution of protests. At the same time, the Forest Park women were going door-to-door in the suburb, getting signatures on a petition in favor of the proposed park and condemning the cemeteries and churches as non-taxpaying "meddlers." This time, the Synod failed, and park construction went ahead as planned.
The formal dedication or known as soft opening was on 22 March 1908. There were so much Interest that they added "Chartered" trains on the Metropolitan and Lake Street “L”s, the A&E, and west side surface lines. Between 5000 and 10,000 people attended on the opening day. However, in April, a local referendum threatened to turn the new park dry (remember who were running the amusement park--the politicians and the alcohol related people!). The Anti-saloon (and pro-cemetery) forces in the neighboring dry village of River Forest saw the vote as a way of stopping the unopen amusement park. Despite a concerted effort, the dry forces were defeated. It was possible that it may have been a new newspaper, the Forest Park Weekly News, edited by "F. R. E. Woodward of the park's publicity department." as an "organ of Chicago brewers and the local saloon interests." You can see it was all tied in politically called, Corporatism.
Politics played major role in this park. Read on and you will see how dirty politics it gets as you read above too. Chicago... a hundred years ago.
The new amusement park had an agreement to get its electricity from the Sanitary District instead of the main commercial power company in Greater Chicago (utilities are the only Socialism or Centralized Government controlled in the United States), and local electric companies fought hard to prevent this. So on opening night at 11:15 o’clock pm in March 1908 (gets dark around 6 pm), there was a sudden surged and the crowded park went dark. Staff had to use lanterns to guide people exit the park safely. They suspected that it was sabotage due to the many threats and obstacles by the main power company put in the way of the district bringing power to the park. I believe that is illegal. It was illegal. In today's world, that would be terrorism.
Of course as portrayed in the movies and real life stories such as infamous mobster Al Capone and the mafia in Chicago, this is why we view Chicago as dirty and this was evident.
But then a 68 MPH wind storm (Gale) damaged the park which was supposed to open the next day (May 28) for the first time. Chicago is famous for windy weather. While the article mentions damages across much of the Chicago-land area, the Forest Park Amusement Park had damages. 20,000 USD (in 2021, over 500,000 USD) in damages, Damages include rides, buildings, park transportation, and power supplies, though no construction worker or administrative official there that day was hurt. The roller coaster was not yet done construction did not have any structure braces and the wind blew it down. Does that remind you of the Three Little Pigs story?
They finally opened in a week. June 4th.
But by the end of June that year, everything was running smoothly, and patrons from all over Chicago's West Side flocked to the new Forest Park. Its main buildings were designed in Art Nouveau style, by E.E. Roberts, a popular Oak Park architect of Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School, and thus its architecture was the most distinctive of any parks since White City Amusement Park. Particularly impressive was the park's entrance, between two towers each over four stories tall.
I wonder if the rink was designed by him. That is a good question. I always wanted to know who designed most roller rinks but quite rarely I find rinks designed by some architect. (Actually as of 22 August 2021, only about 5 designers or architects designed as many as 20 rinks out of 3000 rinks I profiled so far.)
In 1909, Paul Howse left White City Amusement Park to replace Thomas W. Prior as manager of Forest Park. who was the manager just for a year. Thomas Prior is known to do that often as he managed each park for a year. But Paul Howse is known well and wise move because he founded the White City Amusement Park and operated for 4 years. He just wanted to step lower and get more involved with the park operations than just signing names as an operator.
At the rink, There was a palm garden café and soda fountain in the middle of the rink which was an oval, 1/8 mile long oval with a 25-foot wide skating surface. That translate to 660 feet long, 25 feet each side and each end making the center at 25 feet by 610 feet long for the Café.
Forest Park had a roller rink when it first opened in 1908, but the concession had been removed soon after due to poor sales. They closed soon after that. With roller skating a revived fad, Paul Heinze revitalized a new Roller Rink adjacent to the park swimming pool in 1915. That reincarnation had ran from 1915 to the end of 1922.
By 1915, the skating rink had speed skating events.
But The Forest Park Fair Grounds & Amusement Company (renamed) files bankruptcy in 1915. A new Forest Park Amusement Company (unrelated to the original) was organized for the 1916 season.
In March 1918, the company owning Forest Park was reorganized, for the second time in three years. It became Amusement Exhibition Company.
By July 20, 1918, the park seemed to be enjoying the same kind of record season as Riverview Park and White City Amusement Park. Manager Paul Heinze reported most concessionaires already assuring him they would book with the park again for the following year. Just five days later, a fire destroyed 1/5th of the park.
The huge fire broke out at 3:30 am in the boiler room of the pool house in the morning of Thursday, July 25, 1918. The fire quickly spread to adjoining structures on the south side of the park. It was discovered by a park policeman who hurried to the home of Paul Heinze in the front gate towers. As the alarm was sounded, Heinze's eldest daughter, 16-year-old Marga, hurried to the burning stable on the south part of the grounds and led out her pet Shetland pony, Daisy, at risk to her own life.
At first, it was feared the entire park would go up in flames, as the fire, starting at the covered swimming pool had cut off the park's water supply. With the Sanitary District's powerhouse and lighting station also among the first structures burned, the combined lack of power and water hampered firemen for nearly two hours. The fire departments of Oak Park, Austin, and other suburbs were summoned to help, and a crowd of residents hurried to the scene to assist, but with no water, they could only confine the fire, not fight it. Valves were finally reached and opened, and more water pumped in from neighboring Oak Park; an "especially heroic effort" saved the Ballroom, first thought doomed.
But the south end of the park was not so lucky. The fire completely destroyed the park's rink (with 5000 skates and a large orchestrion), swimming pool (with 8000 bathing suits), the Sanitary District substation, a big new freak show scheduled to open that afternoon, a skeeball alley, 400-1000' of the Giant Safety Coaster, the Terror on the Ocean, and the entire Leap the Dips coaster. A Japanese tea room, a bowling alley, a Chop Suey restaurant, and two ice cream parlors were damaged by water and smoke. Almost unbelievably, it was reported that the fire was still raging at 7 am while Paul Heinze announced that Forest Park would open as usual at 1 o’clock in the afternoon ─ Yes, Paul actually opened he park when the fire died down at those areas. Visitors took great interest in the newest attraction, the huge area of charred remains, while the rest of the park operated as if nothing had happened. Incredibly, Heinze promised that all ruined attractions would be replaced or repaired by Monday, July 29th which was just five days later.
Did Paul Heinze kept his promise that it would be rebuilt in 5 days? I have no records from those sites saying they were rebuilt.
Forest Park stayed open until the end of the season. Rumors flew that the fire had been German sabotage or, even more mysteriously, a revenge plot.
In 1920, the first blow to the park was the passage of Prohibition. From the very beginning, the amusement park had been connected to beer and liquor interests;
After years of leasing the 12 plus acres on which the park was located, the Forest Park Amusement Company finally purchased the land at the end of 1920.
But in 1921, several problems rose besides the alcohol beverages banned, there was a fire at the tower where Paul Henize used to live and then the mayor refuse to issue operating license because of illegal gambling were operating at the park. the City Council denied the park's permit to operate. At first, it looked like the park would not be able to open Wednesday, May 18th, however, that very day, the Superior Court granted an injunction, allowing the park to open that night. Attendance and weather were both reported to be good.
The park lawyer, a Mr. Soelke finally prevailed, and the Council granted the park's license. Everything points to the park in decline.
In 1922, Forest Park's Mayor Kaul tried to prevent the amusement park from opening. At a City Council meeting that May, he stated he had been opposed to the park for 5 years. The park hadn't kept its word from their guilt in 1921 that there had been gambling; the rides were not safe, in his opinion. Furthermore, the park should never have been granted a license, as it was too close to the cemeteries on Desplaines Avenue. 'Village Commissioner Fietsch commented that the people of the suburb were all for the park, judging by the way they asked for passes. The license question was voted on, the Mayor saying No, Commissioners Wendt and Fietsch voting Yes. The license was granted for another year.
Forest Park closed its gates as usual that September. Though no one knew it at the time, those gates would never open again. 1922 was the final season.
On April 21, 1923, the following year, the park's Board of Directors voted not to open Forest Park that year. Prohibition was cited as the reason for shutting down. As the Forest Park Review put it, the amusement park "gave up after a two-year diet of lemonade."
1924, the park grounds were purchased for $110,000, forty thousand less than the park company had wanted. By 1925, that true purchaser was said to be Chicago utility magnate Samuel Insull.
Since 1923, the vacant grounds had been frequently used for picnics, and the still-standing Ballroom still used for dances held once or twice a week in the winter months.
In October 1926, the Gate Towers and the Ballroom were finally razed. It was announced at this time that the A&ERR had no immediate plans for the land, and no depot would be built for the electric line to Westchester as originally rumored. In 1929, the stock market crash and the ruin of Insull's companies put an end to any further plans he might have had for the site, not, however, before the park's old swimming pool, still used by local kids till then, was condemned as unsafe, and destroyed.
With the demolition of the swimming pool, it was assumed that the last trace of Forest Park Amusement Park had been erased. The land sat mostly vacant for two decades, throughout the Depression and World War II. Then, in the 1950s, it was announced that part of Chicago's new expressway system would be built through the old park site. As workmen excavated the location, strange concrete tunnels were found beneath the ground. A half-century after they had been built, the road crew had unearthed the true last remnants of Forest Park Amusement Park; the tunnels of the old Pneumatic Tube ride.
Today, the concrete canyon of the Eisenhower Expressway cuts across the south half of the old park, many feet below The northern part of the park is a train station.
The Interior.
There was a palm garden café and soda fountain in the middle of the rink which was an oval, 1/8 mile long oval with a 25-foot wide skating surface. Shortly after, they removed the concessions from the rink as sales were very poor. That was the original rink in 1908 but the revitalized rink in 1915 was quite different. It had 8000 pairs of skates.
The 1/8th according to the thesis essay and from the library I read, that 1/8th of a mile means 660 feet long! That was huge! That should have been considered the World's Longest Indoor Roller Rink. But very narrow each side which made up the difference. Perhaps on each ends were 25 feet making the 25 Feet by 610 Feet center for the Cafe and Concessions. with seating. The center with the Cafe was just 15,250 SF. Enough room to eat at the Cafe. Likely they had a walk bridge over the rink. The rink which was quite long and narrow would balance out to almost as NHL rink (17,000 SF). The rink in question had 17,750 Square feet! Just 750 Square Feet more than a NHL rink. The International/Olympics Hockey Rink is 19,620 Square Feet. I do not have any interior photos of the rink.
The final rink was burned by fire.
The Exterior.
Art Nouveau style building that had posts on each wall and every 25 feet cross section because the rink width was merely 25 feet wide on each side plus about 25 feet wide center for the café and concessions. They were all wood. The exterior was a bit corny look with huge words and prices for the rink. Looked a bit chaotic. It had a ticket booth outside of the building with a stand with the admission price of 10 US Cents.
Because of the fire in the boiler room in the poolhouse and the inablity to fight fire with not working water pumps, the rink burned.
The Stats:
Rink Size: 75' x 660' (Center is counted which is not a rink but a café) Floor: Non-painted, clear coated Maple. Floor Layout: Likely Log.
Building Size: Over 660 feet long! Over 75' wide. Built/Renovations: 1908 Demolished: Thursday, July 25, 1918, 3:30 AM by wide spread fire from boiler room house for the heated swimming pool.
Type of Building: Art Nouveau Posts/Columns Wood Trusses Wood - Walled Fun house - like Building.
Roof: Mixed.
Acres: 12.3333.
Organ: Orchestrion Organ (1915 to 1918).
Skates rentals: 5000 pairs (1915 to 1918).
Architect: Eben Ezra "E.E." Roberts (Possible).
Operated: (Overall)-- March 22, 1908 (dedication/soft opening), June 4,1908 (delayed due to storm damaged to park) to Late 1900s or early 1910s. Reopened May 1915 to Thursday, July 25, 1918, 3:30 AM.
Reason for Closure: First time closure due to downturn of roller skating and café was already removed shortly after first opened which hurt the rink. The second closure, the wide spread fire from boiler room house for the heated swimming pool (1/5th of park burned down).
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, size of rink (2nd rink sizes needed, Also photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at [email protected]. Thank you.
Sources:
US Dollar inflation adjusting - from 1905 to 22 August 2021.
Digital Research Library of Illinois Journal - Forest Park Amusement Park
Living History of Forest Park PDF. 38 pages!
Encyclopedia of Chicago - Bit about the park.
Forest Park History - About the park.
The Chicago Daily Tribune - “10 Minute Storm Cuts Path of Ruin,” The Chicago Daily Tribune LXVII, No. 129 (May 29, 1908).
The Chicago Eagle - About the park July 4, 1908.
Date of issue: 22 August 2021.
For office use only: 8 (4n, 1g,)
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