Riverview Park drew millions in Chicago for 64 years — then the land won

Riverview Park opened on 2 July 1904 beside the Chicago River, founded by William Schmidt and shaped by his son George, who had toured Europe's Tivoli Gardens and Prater and wanted a pleasure ground in that mould. For 64 years the park never left the Schmidt family, drawing millions of visitors a season — some 200 million in total — to its coaster banks, dance halls and midway.

By the late 1960s the ground under the park was worth more than the park. The surrounding neighbourhood had emptied out with white flight, the attractions were aging, and a 'seedy' reputation clung to it — one historians say was fed by racial myths as the crowds became more mixed. Real-estate value, not admission receipts, became the number that mattered.

The sale had been negotiated in secret for years, then broke on the front page of the Chicago Tribune: the Schmidt family had sold the site to developers for more than $6.8 million. Riverview closed abruptly on 3 October 1967 — staff said it was 'like somebody took a light switch and just turned it off' — with no final season and no goodbye.