Old Chicago, 1975
A while ago, Sue B. sent me some slides to scan - photos that were taken by her Dad, Lou Perry, back in July in 1975. The box of slides was labeled "Old Chicago", and I assumed that it was going to contain pictures of various old buildings around the Chicago area. But I was so wrong! "Old Chicago" was a short-lived amusement park & mall (in Bolingbrooke, a suburb southwest of Chicago) housed in a giant 345,000 square-foot building so that it could be open all year 'round. Fascinating!
In this first photo, Lou pulled over to capture this long-distance view, with Old Chicago's large dome visible beyond the oncoming traffic.
Closer....! The outside of the place was a bit featureless, but that way they could control the lights indoors. Besides, would you want to wash all those windows?
From the very beginning, Old Chicago ran into problems with construction delays, but the grand opening on June 17, 1975 attracted over 10,000 people and caused massive traffic backups. An 18 year-old girl (Michelle Mauthe) tap-danced on top of the dome in high winds that day! Apparently construction was not actually complete though, with exposed wiring - always a good thing to have around people.
Man, that place is big! I can hardly stand the anticipation. Last-minute fixes to the wiring and other issues resulted in the actual opening being delayed, but when it did open, it attracted even bigger crowds than before.
I like the humorous touch of including these bronze lions flanking the entrance, presumably they are copies of the famous pair of lions at the entrance to the Chicago Art Institute.
The decor inside was supposed to evoke "early 20th century". It mostly just looked like a mall. There were no large, familiar stores (such as Marshall Field's) to anchor the mall, a choice that turned out to be a problem later. Still, wouldn't you love to check out Kei-Tiki Village?
At first I wondered why some of the interiors appeared to be so dark, but these streetlights tell me it was supposed to be nighttime, even in the middle of the day. Notice the shop to the right, still unfinished, while to our left, several empty storefronts.
The General Store only sold merchandise to Generals, and that just seems like a bad idea. Old Chicago continued to experience problems such as a faulty sprinkler system, and later a small fire (no surprise) that forced an evacuation. Then an acrobat performing in the circus trapeze act fell to his death.
A small group of folks have gathered to listen to a trio of musicians; keyboards, acoustic guitar, and... jazz flute? Can't tell for sure.
According to Wikipedia, Old Chicago was on the verge of bankruptcy only six months after opening. Stores began closing, and locals did not visit regularly, even though the place was generally popular. The opening of Marriott's (later Six Flags) Great America in 1976 drew even more people away from Old Chicago, and it continued to fade in popularity.
Here's a shot where you can see the indoor roller coaster; I'm not entirely certain what other sorts of amusement park rides were available, but they weren't enough to save the place; by 1980 the amusement area was closed and the rides were sold off. The remaining shops closed shortly afterwards. There were a number of plans to use the enormous building for some other enterprise, including a casino, but none of those came to fruition, and Old Chicago was razed in the spring of 1986. Amazon paid over $50 million for the site in January of this year.
It was a sad end to Old Chicago, but I am very grateful to Lou and Sue for introducing me to this very interesting piece of Chicago history! There are more photos from Lou and Sue's collection, I may post some of those at a future date.
25 comments:
Major, I'm guessing these slides are maybe from July 1975?? because it doesn't look like the amusement park area is finished. I went there a couple times on dates and had a lot of fun - but this place definitely was NOT Disneyland. It was more of a fancy carnival with a fun rollercoaster in the middle.
Old Chicago would've been a great idea if it was built near a populated area. It was quite a ways out from anything, at that time. I know that's one of the reasons it failed. This was the only park that was opened year round, in our area, so it didn't have any [winter] competition for 5 or 6 months out of the year. The builders were foolish in their location choice. As they say, "location, location, location...."
Growing up in San Diego we used to get several tv stations from LA and I remember seeing many commercials for something called THE OLD TOWN MALL ...... I think it was in Van Nuys? It was almost identical to Old Chicago - but much smaller. There were specialty shops, restaurants etc themed to a Main Street USA in a warehouse. I never went - our neighbors did and were not impressed - but I remember the commercials - also my uncles went to a model kit convention held inside there.
In San Diego we had a indoor restaurant called CALICO’s and it was themed to a ghost town at night ( ala blue bayou) you ate on the boardwalks and porches and in some of the lower level building interiors - the “jail” was alway popular . I recall eating in a covered wagon in the middle of the street that has stairs built in the rear. There was also a Stagecoach you could sit and eat in. I THINK the restaurant was in El Camino Real shopping center - but I can find no information on the restaurant’s existence. For sure I ate there twice - but I assume it must not have been around very long.
It’s interesting to see these lower budget indoor themed malls were common at one time.
Mike, Calico's sounds like a restaurant that I would've loved, as I enjoy any restaurant with a unique atmosphere. Even if the food isn't top-notch, I'll gladly go back to a place that's fun, like what you described. I know I mentioned it before, but Blue Bayou is my favorite restaurant of all - can't beat that atmosphere - and I've had some delicious meals there, too!
I wonder why they didn't have Shirley Temple tap dance on top of the dome?
Mike, you beat me to it. These pictures remind me SO much of Old Towne Mall. It was located on Hawthorne Blvd., in Torrance. My grandparents lived in Torrance, so my grandmother would take us there quite often. They had carnival-type flat rides, bumper cars, a wax museum, a double-decker carousel and two dark rides! I loved Old Towne Mall! It looked very similar to this shopping center on the inside, with the old fashioned store fronts, and the benches and street lamps.
I want the (denim?) outfit, with the bell bottom pants, featured in the window of the "Mr. Jeans" store!
Thank you so much, for sharing these with us, Sue and Major! I would love to see more of this shopping center!
Nanook, is that a yellow AMC Hornet wagon, in the first pic?
Great pictures of a cool place! The dome and Neoclassical entryway make me think of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London.
It’s Mr. Greenjeans’s less-flamboyant cousin, Mr. Jeans!
”The General Store only sold merchandise to Generals...”
There was an episode of Maverick with a similar gag. It turned out to be not “the General Store,” but “the General’s Store,” a shop owned by s former Confederate General.
There’s a mall about an hour from me with a 1908 Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters carousel in the food court. It’s a really lovely piece.
Indoor amusement parks seemed to be popping up everywhere in the mid-'70s, but in most cases they didn't last too long. The World of Sid and Marty Krofft in Atlanta immediately comes to mind.
Walt seriously considered an indoor amusement park in downtown St. Louis a decade earlier before launching full steam into WDW. I've often wondered whether or not that place could have survived had it been built.
TM!, not to spoil Nanook's thunder, but that's a Ford Pinto wagon in the first picture.
That coaster was called the Chicago Loop, and it is now at Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire under the name Canobie Corkscrew. It's a classic Arrow Development (same people who made the Matterhorn) Corkscrew like the ones at presently at Cedar Point and formerly at Busch Gardens Tampa.
You can see a Yo-Yo to the left and a Rotor to the right in the background of the last picture (both outlined in lights and both Chance rides).
TokyoMagic!, if only we could get two dark rides in every mall for good measure... thanks so much to Lou and Sue for sharing these awesome pictures!
Several years ago an "outdoor mall" opened a few miles from us that used old style buildings as its draw. It IS anchored by some major stores, as well as apartments. It's really well done and it really does feel like you're in an old town. It's still doing great business. It's called Firewheel Mall in Garland, Tx, if you feel like looking it up. No rides, though. Sorry.
My stepdad had a Pinto wagon with fake wood panels on the side. Slowest car I ever drove...
”TM!, not to spoil Nanook's thunder, but that's a Ford Pinto wagon in the first picture.”
It’s nearly identical to the wood paneled Pinto wagon my aunt (Mom’s twin) drove when I was little. There was a spare tire compartment built into the floor of the way back, and we cousins would sit around it, pretending it was a campfire. Obviously, this was before the days of mandatory seatbelts and car seats; I would never want to go back to those days of less road safety, but it’s still a fun memory. When we all went to the drive-in together, she’d park facing away from the screen with the hatch open, so we could sprawl out in the back with our sleeping bags to watch the movie.
Lou and Sue, argh, you are right, I somehow screwed up big time - not sure how that happened. I even see that I dated the slides “1967”. I was probably doing tons of scans in one day, that’s how I get into trouble. I’ll try to fix it later, though I will fix the title NOW! Your description (“…it was more of a fancy carnival with a fun rollercoaster”) sounds about right! Still, it’s a fascinating bit of history.
Mike Cozart, gosh I don’t know about the Old Town Mall, I’ll have to look that up when I have time (I’ll be visiting my elderly mom today). I’d love to see where it was located, specifically, though the chances are good that all traces of it are long-gone. That “Calico” restaurant sounds pretty neat, I love that somebody went to the effort of making such a cool themed restaurant. Yet another thing to Google!
Lou and Sue, yes, I would have loved that too. When I was a little kid I thought it would be cool to have a big house, with each room decorated to a different theme. “Here’s my space room!”. “Here’s my western room!”. Of course the reality would have been awful, but hey, I was a kid.
TokyoMagic!, I have the feeling Shirley’s tap dancing days were well behind her by 1975. Wasn’t she an ambassador? Now I REALLY want to look into Old Towne Mall. I would have loved it. Some malls have little play areas for tiny kids, and even those crummy plastic merry-go-rounds make the children happy, imagine if they’d had something more like a miniature fair, year-round?
Melissa, does Old Chicago make you want to “Feed the birds” like I do? Why are Mr. Greenjeans’ jeans green? Even as a child I thought “He needs to wash those things”. I am currently contacting my lawyer about suing the writers of “Maverick” for stealing my joke 50 years ago. That mall you mentioned sounds neat!
Chuck, yes, clearly people were thinking, “We don’t have Southern California’s weather, but we want those theme park bucks!”. It’s not a terrible idea, though they never seemed to last. I’ve read/heard about Walt’s St. Louis park idea… I hate to say it, but it doesn’t sound like something that would have lasted. Impossible to say though.
Andrew, wow, I’m amazed that the roller coaster is still up and running anywhere - by now it’s a real antique. Years ago when my grandparents were still around, we would go to Minnesota to visit them every summer, and we’d drive right past the Mall of America. I was always so curious to go inside, but my dad couldn’t have been less interested. He was not one for frivolous side excursions!
stu29573, all I hear about malls these days is how they are “dying”, so it’s nice to know that someone built a nice one near you. We have some famous mixed-use malls, such as “The Grove” and “The Americana at Brand”, elaborate themed shopping centers (I guess sort of “European”?) with fountains, sometimes a trolley, big fancy movie theaters, and condos or apartments above it all. You never have to drive anywhere! On some level it sounds appealing, though perhaps one would get tired of the available offerings.
Don't worry about the General Store, Major. There's a couple of major stores on the other side of the mall.
TM!, I lived in Torrance for a couple of years in the 70s. Was it there then? I have no recollection of Old Towne Mall! I didn't get out much.
These are fun, Sue. Thank your Dad for preserving the memory of such a short lived mall. But I wonder, you still had to get there in really bad weather. I can't imagine how much money can be lost on a venture such as this.
Mike, I bet the Outhouse Room went vacant most nights.
Thanks Major for posting these,
zach
“Major stores,” groan! All these puns deserve corporal punishment!
It would be cool to have a Peoplemover in some of the bigger malls, for when you’re weighed down with bags.
I too immediately thought of Old Town Mall on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance. It was amazing when it first opened. My brother would come visit my Mom and me every Sunday. While I was at church in the morning he would visit with Mom and then when I got home we would drive to a mall in the area (like Del Amo Mall or South Bay) but usually Old Town. It was so different and so cute with lots of entertainment. But like many malls, it went downhill and failed. Now it is a regular open air shopping area with all buildings (nothing old town about them) facing Hawthorne Blvd. The only thing that saved it is they put in a Trader Joe's. I haven't been by there in years! Major - do a Google search for Old Town Mall Torrance and there is a good article from the Daily Breeze with photos.
zach, ha ha, I feel better already. Now that I think about it, I might have scanned and shared a decal from Old Towne Mall on this very blog, a long time ago. I didn’t know anything about the place, but somehow wound up with the decal. Old Chicago seems like it was such a colossal failure, but I can’t help thinking about all of the hard work and creativity that went into its making. It’s a shame that it wasn’t a success.
Melissa, you should talk! You’re the queen of puns (not necessarily bad puns, but they still make me wince!)! A Peoplemover would be nice in ANY mall. Sometimes the little fake train goes by in my local mall and I am too ashamed to admit that I want to ride it along with the four year-olds.
Irene, while I was never much of a shopper, I always sort of liked going to a nice busy mall. It was something to do, and you could grab a bite to eat, maybe see a movie, go look at the Apple Store’s latest products, maybe get some jeans at Miller’s Outpost… it was a pleasant way to pass a few hours. We still have some good malls around here, but you can tell that (before the virus) they were starting to get a little rundown. I’m glad you had so many good memories of you and Bruce going to Old Towne Mall!
Melissa, Corporal punishment?! (Although privately, I agree with you)
Sometimes the little fake train goes by in my local mall and I am too ashamed to admit that I want to ride it along with the four year-olds.
Major :) I've taken a few rides on the little mall train over the last several years, while babysitting my friend's little girl (now 7). She likes to sit in the "enclosed" train cars, so I have to stoop really low and practically crawl in (I'm on the tall side); and then she always wants me to sit (squish) next to her. (I would suggest going for an open car or you may feel claustrophobic.)
Thanks, Major and everyone! I enjoyed revisiting Old Chicago with all of you, and also learned more about it (didn't know the Chicago Loop was made by the same folks who made/designed the Matterhorn).
Sue
Andrew, "If only we could get two dark rides in every mall for good measure." I'd vote for that!
Zach, Old Towne Mall was located not too far from the malls that Irene mentioned, Del Amo Mall and South Bay Center (later called South Bay Galleria). Old Towne was between the two....all of which, were located on Hawthorne Blvd. I believe it was built in 1972 and was still an indoor mall up until 1989. It was very non-descript on the outside, so perhaps that is why you missed it.
Irene, I forgot about the entertainment. They had bands who would dress in period costumes. Remember the "singing Key Stone Cop" guy? I forgot that they also had a puppet theater set up in the middle of the mall at some point.
Major, photos of Old Towne Mall are kind of hard to find. I guess most people didn't take their cameras with them to go shopping at a mall? I have a few photos and a few postcards and I've been wanting to do a blog post about it. I just wish I had more images of the place!
They didn't tear down Old Towne Mall, but they gutted it and now it consists of all larger type stores like, Marshall's, Office Depot, Burlington, etc., which all face out towards the street. So basically it is now just an oversized strip mall. Sad!
This an interesting building. I'm guessing it was in the shape of a doughnut with the rides in the center. That's the layout for the Mall of America, (which btw I remember when it was a stadium).
I've read something about the dark rides at Old Towne Mall. I guess they had a very unique character. I've seen some fun pics about online.
As for the World of Sid and Marty Krofft in Atlanta, I would have loved to go on the Pinball Ride.
Thanks for sharing!
Sue, I don't know if you know, but Arrow Development built so much for early Disneyland, including most everything in Fantasyland (Dumbo, the darkrides, etc.). Walt Disney even became a majority shareholder in thanks for the work they did in getting the park off of the ground. The American Coaster Enthusiasts made a comprehensive documentary about Arrow, and I suggest watching the Disneyland segment in the first fourth.
Arrow's most important invention was tubular steel coaster track, and it first appeared on the Matterhorn.
Arrow also developed the first minetrain ride...The Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas.
This talk about dark rides and malls dredged up a memory of a small indoor ride area next to the food court at a mall I visited in Korat, Thailand. They had a train that went through a black lit tunnel with a few Sid-and-Marty-Kroft-style characters in it. Bizarre, but in a cool way. The kids I saw riding it seemed to like it a lot.
Melissa, you guys called it the "way back," too? Glad to see my sister and I were in good company.
And regarding PeopleMovers in malls...while technically not a PeopleMover, the Pearlridge Center on Oahu has a monorail that connects the different sections of the mall.
Chuck, I forgot to thank you for the answer to my car question. The street in that car ad looks kind of phony. I wonder if that could have been one of Universal Studios residential streets on their backlot?
TM!, now that you mention it, I'm positive that is the original Colonial Street at Universal Studios.
The Pinto is parked in the driveway of the "Keller House." The hedges just behind the the wooden lamppost behind the posing family lead up to the front door of the "Paramount/Cleaver House," which were added when this became Marcus Welby's home for the 1969-76 TV series. The house in the background that the group of kids with tricycles and a wagon are standing in front of is the "Dana House." The corner across the street where the paperboy is posing on his bike is visible in this still from Leave It To Beaver, along with the Dana House before the front porch was remodeled and the steps with the white railing were relocated from the front right side of the porch to the Paramount/Cleaver House side of the porch (which is where they are in the Pinto ad).
I often forget that print ads are usually shot in environments no less tightly-controlled than a TV or movie set, and it would make sense to shoot this on a backlot.
I'm reminded of this Army National Guard ad and this Air National Guard ad, both from 1975. I met one of the guys responsible for coordinating the National Guard side of this shoot in 1995, and he told me that they were both shot at the (by 1995 former) Air National Guard station at Ontario Airport. The ad agency built the house facades and laid out sod and trees on the concrete parking apron on the flight line, which was cheaper and less likely to damage the tank or aircraft (or somebody's driveway) than moving it to a residential neighborhood or backlot. The building in the background is actually one of the buildings permanent buildings at the ANG station.
There was also a companion ad that I have been unable to locate on the Interwebs showing the "neighborhood" with both houses, the F-106 and the M60, and the "families" that lived in them, emphasizing that Guard members are part of your community.
Chuck, thanks for the confirmation! I thought that street looked a little too familiar.....even from what little of it we could see in the ad. I am very familiar with those low hedges in front of the Marcus Welby house, because my dad took several pics of that house, back in the seventies.
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