This place was magical to me when i was a kid. I got my ears pierced there. Had a birthday party there and seen my childhood crush perform in his then band, Wiilie Aames from Eight is enough. Went here with my girl scout troop too. I loved the four seasons ride the best. Such precious memories of my childhood. So sad its been torn down.
I've lived in Bolingbrook for the past 27 years, since I was a month old. Wild seeing all of the empty lots driving up where a lot of my favorite places are today. Seeing the 53/55 exit that long ago is also crazy to me. No signs, no amazon, no failed shopping center or shell gas on the corner of the exit.. Thank you for uploading, great video.
This is awesome. I'm not sure if my parents took me there when I was a young tyke, but I remember driving by it all the time. Mom took us to investigate it up close in '85 or '86 just before they tore it down, but I didn't get to go inside. The concept fascinates me, it's too bad things didn't work out.
WOW! The good o'l days... i remember when my big momma took me with her and her church to this awesome place. Oh what an amazing childhood I had. Glory to God.
Anyone who posts thumbs down on this is crazy! Can't begin to tell you how grateful/thankful I am for you having posted this. I've waited 28 long years to see footage like this (and the interior footage you posted as well)! As my friend Greg D. posted, the traffic footage was so wild to see as well. It brought back a ton of memories, because it always seemed like a given that, even though the Old Chicago concept unfortunately didn't make it, I never thought the actual building would be torn down. Architecture like that deserves to stay put, and it was really too bad that it's gone. I hope you have more footage that you'll post someday. The lions sit along Rte. 120 in McHenry, by the way, standing in front of a strip mall. Deeply miss this place, thanks so much for putting this out here for the rest of us who remember it!
I live in Lakemoor and pass by those lions all the time on my way into McHenry. I had no idea those were "THOSE" lions. Wow!! Thanks for posting T Garrett.
My family moved to Bolingbrook back in '72 (from the north side of Chicago), and back then it was just about nothing but fields and farmland. I grew up there, and have lots of fond memories there.
This Gives Me Chills Seeing this i went with My Parents when i was a Kid this place was So Big you Could See the Dome on a Sunny Day in my Class Room in Joilet
My mother told me she brought me here when I was a baby; being that young I don't remember. I was born in '77. All I can remember was seeing the abandoned building, and seeing those huge lions every time we took I-55 to go to Chicago through the mid 80's
I remember when I was a kid and we went here. It was cold and I think it had snowed it was a long ride to get to but as we walked in I could not believe my eyes! An indoor amusement park! I thought how cool someone thought up what kids would always want. Then Great America opened and I think that was really what might have been the "death blow" for this and many other places but I will always have the memory.
I was in high school when this went up. I remember going there with my family, and we went there just one time. The drive to Bolingbrook (or "Bolingbrook by the Sea" as Steve Dahl called it) was just too far according to my family.
I have many fond memories of Old Chicago. I went there often and was really saddened when it closed down. That place was light years ahead of its time. Farewell old friend
OMG ! If I can only bring back those days of visiting Old Chicago where I rode my first roller coaster called The Chicago Loop. What a shame to close the door of an amazing place so soon. Thanks for posting :)
I remember watching them build this place when I used to hitchhike up 1-55 from Carbondale around '73-74, and I was wondering- what the heck is this huge place going to be? And then after all that, it closed in 6 years. Seemed like such a tremendous waste of money and materials. I went there once and checked out the hobby store, making note of the fact that the prices on the model kits were twice what they were in other hobby shops and it made me wonder how those shops could survive. There were also rumors at the time that the whole place was a front for the crime syndicate, or something along those lines.
It looked like a kick ass hobby shop ,though! I was with a church youth group when I went there, and I asked the assistant pastor it we could look in the store and he said no, they didn't want us going in the "sex shops"! 😆
i don't know why but seeing this extinct amusement park gives me the chills like watch a reanimated corpse from the past. I live near this area and it the first time I'm knowing about this park. Wish I could have experienced it when it was there but time changes and unfortunately can see remains and the history of this amusement park that once brought fun to those at the time.
I went there a couple of times. Seemed very Sterile and Cold - just gray concrete everywhere. I remember being in the Disco with my girlfriend. I remember the movie "The Fury" there when the Arabs flew off the ride. Not surprised it failed though.
Wow, just think of all that work, the time and materials that just went to waste. That was such a fun place. And a cool concept that was just before it's time. It might had made it if they had some anchor stores like Sears, Montgomery Wards or J.C. Penney's. Too sad :o(
I just found out about this place by my mom and I am so sad that I was not alive when old Chicago was around. I've seen images on Google of it and I want to go really bad. Too bad I was born in 2001 :(
Lived in Bolingbrook from 1972 until 1979 ... my best friends and I spend countless hours, even days, at Old Chicago. It was magical. And will forever capture my imagination. Albeit ... I did not like the haunted house where they had real monsters reach out and put their hands on you!
went there once when I was about 8- pretty awesome stuff when you are only that old. still remember seeing it from I55 until it was torn down. that sleepy little I-55 intersection at the beginning is now a nightmare of semis.
Perhaps the thumbs down wasn't because of the video, but someone thumbing down being sad about fact this place is only a memory on video. I hit thumbs up since this is probably the only time I will ever get to see what this was. Great job and thank you for uploading!
I was too young to remember in great detail, but I do remember a creepy fortune telling machine with an animated gypsy that scared the hell outta all the kids including me!
sad to think all that planning it took two years to build and only lasted from 1975 to 1981 torn down in 86 it stayed empty for almost as long as it was open.
Very similar to the Horse Trotting Park that was built near Phoenix for aorund 18 Mil and was used lest thatn two years. Look it up on Google. Recently it was torn down as well.
I think everyone went to check it out and experienced the mall and the rides in the first couple years, and it just declined rapidly after that. I think from lack of interest and a lack of larger anchor stores. The owners tried to revamp the park but it didn't seem to help enough. As a little kid I went there a handful of times in '78-'79 and it was never busy. The sound was deafening. I still remember the mall with the cobblestones and the old street lights and the old time music playing...looked interesting but I remember many of the stores were vacant. Even as a little kid then I thought wow why isn't it busier it's so dead? I'm sure with that huge building to heat, cool and maintain, and the fact that they were losing money and most of the stores in the mall were gone that it wasn't gonna last too long and it didn't.
The place had a Hideous Atmosphere, grey, Cold and unnatural. To most kids over ten it was no substitute for the real thing and that reality was outdoor Summertime amusement parks. It sucked the day the doors opened.
That's how I felt the few times we went there. I liked the Monster of the Midway ride, but the rest of the place gave me this uneasy feeling. I think it was the cold dark warehouse feel it gave me. It never imparted a warm inviting feel to me. Not to say I didn't have any fun, but the atmosphere of the building just never felt right to me.
Sad they had to tear this down for yet another auto auction place. They could have salvaged that Mall had it gotten a few Anchor stores even in 86 before the tear down they could still have saved it. Great memories there! funny just down the road is a huge typical strip mall with similar stores thriving away....smfh...sad..really sad.
I think at one point they moved the scrambler into the disco cause I remember riding it a bunch of times but it was enclosed in a big black room with tons of strobe lights and stuff. Good Times.
I can also remember a little of the earlier commercial's jingle: something like -- "♫Take me to Old Chicago, I really, really wanna go. Take me to Old Chicago, [something, something, something, something]. We'll see some shows, anything goes. Punch a bag, right in the nose. Take me to Old Chicago, I really, really wanna gooooo!♫" Anyone else?
I remember my dad picking me up from midway airport and driving back to plainfield in 87 driving by I noticed it had been leveled I was living in austin tx at the time so I was use to seeing it when I came home
When I was 12, I went to Old Chicago with my first girlfriend ever. We made out big time on the Monster of the Midway. I recall a story of someone dying there. The word always was that he/she tried to change cars on one of the spinning rides. I recall seeing what appeared to be damage to one of the walls and what looked like chalk circles. We always thought that's where the body slammed into the wall. Does anyone know the actual story?
I remember the Monster of the Midway ride!. Was cool, it was basically a scrambler in the dark with a lot of cool lighting and sound effects. Still remember the guys voice who ran the ride. The place was pretty dead so I must've rode it a half dozen times in a row! Lol.
Can you please tell me who the artist is and the song/music is at 10:41 to 11:31. It's so cool and so fitting. All the music is very fitting. Missing the past...
+RikWCrlsn The reason for Old Chicago's demise was due to unfortunate financial downward spiral. There weren't enough local frequent shoppers and visitors to keep the massive structure afloat.
Well, what do you know. I guess I was one of those kids "from Chicago ghetto". I went in what I believe was 3rd or 4th grade for a school field trip. While I wouldn't have known it then it doesn't surprise me that the people in the area would think the school kids were simply "from the ghetto".
@@charjay8954 I'm sure it cost a fortune to heat and cool that massive building. Then you have mostly vacant stores and light traffic in the amusement park. They were probably out of money and knew the business wasn't coming back so it wasn't sustainable.
11:27 Now Appearing PUPPET SHOW and Spinal Tap. Went there once with the wife when it first opened in '75. Just a bunch of crappy gift shops and a very loud amusement area. Never went back.
Lockbar man you sound like a grumpy fuck. Glad you didn’t go back, people like you don’t belong at places where people are having fun.. your what they call a half empty guy, you never see the positive you always point out the negative. Well look in a mirror at the end of the day and see how many people are around you... pretty empty picture I’m sure...
Used to go here around 1976-79 when i was about 9-12 years old with my family & cousins & aunt... oh man it was THE BEST thing back then!!! Was hard to believe it closed... I guess it didn't profit enough to offset the property tax. Granted, it could be worse... could you imagine a "Final Days" video for Disneyland? Now THAT would be an epic sized bummer.
![Eminem - Houdini [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/22tVWwmTie8/mqdefault.jpg)
Totally made me tear up. Dad just passed away 3 weeks ago, and he took us here all of the time. Thank you so much! Love you Daddy!
sorry for your loss :( rip your dad
Hugs, I understand this sentiment very well. My sympathy
This place was magical to me when i was a kid. I got my ears pierced there. Had a birthday party there and seen my childhood crush perform in his then band, Wiilie Aames from Eight is enough. Went here with my girl scout troop too. I loved the four seasons ride the best. Such precious memories of my childhood. So sad its been torn down.
I've lived in Bolingbrook for the past 27 years, since I was a month old. Wild seeing all of the empty lots driving up where a lot of my favorite places are today. Seeing the 53/55 exit that long ago is also crazy to me. No signs, no amazon, no failed shopping center or shell gas on the corner of the exit.. Thank you for uploading, great video.
Thank you for posting this. Childhood memories are priceless. Schwinn Stingrays, school and Winter breaks too! I miss those times.
Thanks for sharing this video.Loved that place when I was in high school.Great place to take a date on a winter night.Again,thanks!!!
This is awesome. I'm not sure if my parents took me there when I was a young tyke, but I remember driving by it all the time. Mom took us to investigate it up close in '85 or '86 just before they tore it down, but I didn't get to go inside. The concept fascinates me, it's too bad things didn't work out.
WOW! The good o'l days... i remember when my big momma took me with her and her church to this awesome place. Oh what an amazing childhood I had. Glory to God.
Anyone who posts thumbs down on this is crazy! Can't begin to tell you how grateful/thankful I am for you having posted this. I've waited 28 long years to see footage like this (and the interior footage you posted as well)! As my friend Greg D. posted, the traffic footage was so wild to see as well. It brought back a ton of memories, because it always seemed like a given that, even though the Old Chicago concept unfortunately didn't make it, I never thought the actual building would be torn down. Architecture like that deserves to stay put, and it was really too bad that it's gone. I hope you have more footage that you'll post someday. The lions sit along Rte. 120 in McHenry, by the way, standing in front of a strip mall. Deeply miss this place, thanks so much for putting this out here for the rest of us who remember it!
I live in Lakemoor and pass by those lions all the time on my way into McHenry. I had no idea those were "THOSE" lions. Wow!! Thanks for posting T Garrett.
It's crazy to know that bolingbrook had the first indoor amusement park because I live in bolingbrook and it's barely celebrating 50 years
Bolingbrook is now Mexicans and huge warehouses- pretty depressing
My family moved to Bolingbrook back in '72 (from the north side of Chicago), and back then it was just about nothing but fields and farmland. I grew up there, and have lots of fond memories there.
Izzy T Thats how I remember bolingbrook as well. We are lucky we got to experience that area the way it used to be before it changed so drastically
That was great, thanks for sharing! Early childhood memories of that place. Even the traffic footage in the beginning zoomed me back. Thanks!
This Gives Me Chills Seeing this i went with My Parents when i was a Kid this place was So Big you Could See the Dome on a Sunny Day in my Class Room in Joilet
My mother told me she brought me here when I was a baby; being that young I don't remember. I was born in '77. All I can remember was seeing the abandoned building, and seeing those huge lions every time we took I-55 to go to Chicago through the mid 80's
Wow Thank you for this great footage. Went there several times in the mid 70s until the late 70s.
I remember when I was a kid and we went here. It was cold and I think it had snowed it was a long ride to get to but as we walked in I could not believe my eyes! An indoor amusement park! I thought how cool someone thought up what kids would always want. Then Great America opened and I think that was really what might have been the "death blow" for this and many other places but I will always have the memory.
Wow, cant believe the rush of emotion I had watching this, went on my first date there, got my first real kiss there..
Thanks for the flashback T.....
Whoa -- me too! I was 12. My first real gf. I met her at "The Oval" skating rink in Richton Park. Ah, youth...
I was in high school when this went up. I remember going there with my family, and we went there just one time. The drive to Bolingbrook (or "Bolingbrook by the Sea" as Steve Dahl called it) was just too far according to my family.
Interesting video, Tully. Brings back memories! Thanks for sharing!
I have many fond memories of Old Chicago. I went there often and was really saddened when it closed down. That place was light years ahead of its time. Farewell old friend
I so miss that place. have so many Wonderful childhood memories of it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank You for filming this a very Special part of my Childhood.
OMG ! If I can only bring back those days of visiting Old Chicago where I rode my first roller coaster called The Chicago Loop. What a shame to close the door of an amazing place so soon. Thanks for posting :)
I remember watching them build this place when I used to hitchhike up 1-55 from Carbondale around '73-74, and I was wondering- what the heck is this huge place going to be? And then after all that, it closed in 6 years. Seemed like such a tremendous waste of money and materials.
I went there once and checked out the hobby store, making note of the fact that the prices on the model kits were twice what they were in other hobby shops and it made me wonder how those shops could survive.
There were also rumors at the time that the whole place was a front for the crime syndicate, or something along those lines.
It looked like a kick ass hobby shop ,though! I was with a church youth group when I went there, and I asked the assistant pastor it we could look in the store and he said no, they didn't want us going in the "sex shops"! 😆
@@clydeferguson519 But the model kits in that shop were ridiculously expensive. I can imagine what their rent must've been.
This would have made a great movie studio/sound stages It has the size the height and the back lot spaces.
i don't know why but seeing this extinct amusement park gives me the chills like watch a reanimated corpse from the past. I live near this area and it the first time I'm knowing about this park. Wish I could have experienced it when it was there but time changes and unfortunately can see remains and the history of this amusement park that once brought fun to those at the time.
Thanks for posting. Eerie seeing it in that condition.
Loved that place. Went there several times. My dad would drop us off and my friends and I would spend the whole day there. Great memories...
Those sound cubes were an eyesore! 😂
Definitely interesting to see----thanks much for posting this!
I went there a couple of times. Seemed very Sterile and Cold - just gray concrete everywhere.
I remember being in the Disco with my girlfriend.
I remember the movie "The Fury" there when the Arabs flew off the ride.
Not surprised it failed though.
Wow, just think of all that work, the time and materials that just went to waste. That was such a fun place. And a cool concept that was just before it's time. It might had made it if they had some anchor stores like Sears, Montgomery Wards or J.C. Penney's. Too sad :o(
I just found out about this place by my mom and I am so sad that I was not alive when old Chicago was around. I've seen images on Google of it and I want to go really bad. Too bad I was born in 2001 :(
SRCVintage Electronics same here
Lived in Bolingbrook from 1972 until 1979 ... my best friends and I spend countless hours, even days, at Old Chicago. It was magical. And will forever capture my imagination. Albeit ... I did not like the haunted house where they had real monsters reach out and put their hands on you!
wow I remember going here for my 16th Birthday shame it is gone.They definitely where ahead of there time.Oh the memories
went there once when I was about 8- pretty awesome stuff when you are only that old. still remember seeing it from I55 until it was torn down. that sleepy little I-55 intersection at the beginning is now a nightmare of semis.
2 Thumbs down on this- really? This is the only known footage period....
Perhaps the thumbs down wasn't because of the video, but someone thumbing down being sad about fact this place is only a memory on video. I hit thumbs up since this is probably the only time I will ever get to see what this was. Great job and thank you for uploading!
I was too young to remember in great detail, but I do remember a creepy fortune telling machine with an animated gypsy that scared the hell outta all the kids including me!
+Hugh Janus "I wanna be big!"
+Aubrey Hart
Yea like that!
A Zaltar machine? Believe it or not, they're actually quite common her in the UK now.
There is one of those machines in Tom Handk's movie BIG.
sad to think all that planning it took two years to build and only lasted from 1975 to 1981 torn down in 86 it stayed empty for almost as long as it was open.
Damn
Very similar to the Horse Trotting Park that was built near Phoenix for aorund 18 Mil and was used lest thatn two years. Look it up on Google. Recently it was torn down as well.
I think everyone went to check it out and experienced the mall and the rides in the first couple years, and it just declined rapidly after that. I think from lack of interest and a lack of larger anchor stores. The owners tried to revamp the park but it didn't seem to help enough. As a little kid I went there a handful of times in '78-'79 and it was never busy. The sound was deafening. I still remember the mall with the cobblestones and the old street lights and the old time music playing...looked interesting but I remember many of the stores were vacant. Even as a little kid then I thought wow why isn't it busier it's so dead? I'm sure with that huge building to heat, cool and maintain, and the fact that they were losing money and most of the stores in the mall were gone that it wasn't gonna last too long and it didn't.
The place had a Hideous Atmosphere, grey, Cold and unnatural. To most kids over ten it was no substitute for the real thing and that reality was outdoor Summertime amusement parks. It sucked the day the doors opened.
That's how I felt the few times we went there. I liked the Monster of the Midway ride, but the rest of the place gave me this uneasy feeling. I think it was the cold dark warehouse feel it gave me. It never imparted a warm inviting feel to me. Not to say I didn't have any fun, but the atmosphere of the building just never felt right to me.
Yes but in the winter time it couldn't be beat. Couldn't go to an outdoor amusement park in frigid cold and snow.
Sad they had to tear this down for yet another auto auction place. They could have salvaged that Mall had it gotten a few Anchor stores even in 86 before the tear down they could still have saved it. Great memories there! funny just down the road is a huge typical strip mall with similar stores thriving away....smfh...sad..really sad.
RIP OLD CHICAGO amusement park
rip old chicago amusement park
I think at one point they moved the scrambler into the disco cause I remember riding it a bunch of times but it was enclosed in a big black room with tons of strobe lights and stuff. Good Times.
I lived right across the street in Bolingbrook, went there many times, no big stores, that was the problem,
If only someone could have bought the place and added a couple anchors on the end...and then opened back up.
I went there when I was 6. I lived in Thornton Il.
Good music choice.
I can also remember a little of the earlier commercial's jingle: something like -- "♫Take me to Old Chicago, I really, really wanna go. Take me to Old Chicago, [something, something, something, something]. We'll see some shows, anything goes. Punch a bag, right in the nose. Take me to Old Chicago, I really, really wanna gooooo!♫" Anyone else?
I remember "Lets do it again at Old Chicago, let's have fun again, like we did before..."
I remember one commercial jingle just a few words I remember. They sing, you gotta go to old Chicago, old Chicagos open all year longgggg.....
I remember my dad picking me up from midway airport and driving back to plainfield in 87 driving by I noticed it had been leveled I was living in austin tx at the time so I was use to seeing it when I came home
RIP OLD CHICAGO AMUSEMENT PARK :(
60440 for life!
In 1979 my parents took me here, I remember letting a balloon go in there
Thanks for the kind comment tdc221 !
Use to go there with my youth group
wow thanks 4 the memories
1st job I ever had was operating rides in the park.
When I was 12, I went to Old Chicago with my first girlfriend ever. We made out big time on the Monster of the Midway. I recall a story of someone dying there. The word always was that he/she tried to change cars on one of the spinning rides. I recall seeing what appeared to be damage to one of the walls and what looked like chalk circles. We always thought that's where the body slammed into the wall. Does anyone know the actual story?
I remember the Monster of the Midway ride!. Was cool, it was basically a scrambler in the dark with a lot of cool lighting and sound effects. Still remember the guys voice who ran the ride. The place was pretty dead so I must've rode it a half dozen times in a row! Lol.
loved that place
Me too! 💖💕💗
The lions 😢❤
I remember that
Cool
Can you please tell me who the artist is and the song/music is at 10:41 to 11:31. It's so cool and so fitting. All the music is very fitting. Missing the past...
when was this filmed?
Say hello to your new bland, colossal Amazon warehouse. Tearing down childhood and replacing it with all the crap you can't live without.
Wheres the sound?
Why did it close?
Does anyone know what happened to the Lions?
Matthew Weller from what I understand, they are in front of a strip mall along Rt 120 in McHeney. Or at least they were a few years ago.
Watched it being built from my bedroom window and demolished. . Sad days...
But yes bussing in from Chicago ghetto helped in its demise. ..
+RikWCrlsn The reason for Old Chicago's demise was due to unfortunate financial downward spiral. There weren't enough local frequent shoppers and visitors to keep the massive structure afloat.
Well, what do you know. I guess I was one of those kids "from Chicago ghetto". I went in what I believe was 3rd or 4th grade for a school field trip. While I wouldn't have known it then it doesn't surprise me that the people in the area would think the school kids were simply "from the ghetto".
@@charjay8954 I'm sure it cost a fortune to heat and cool that massive building. Then you have mostly vacant stores and light traffic in the amusement park. They were probably out of money and knew the business wasn't coming back so it wasn't sustainable.
11:27 Now Appearing PUPPET SHOW and Spinal Tap. Went there once with the wife when it first opened in '75. Just a bunch of crappy gift shops and a very loud amusement area. Never went back.
I'm sure no one there missed you in the least. That place held many fond memories for many, if you didn't like it- tough.
Lockbar man you sound like a grumpy fuck. Glad you didn’t go back, people like you don’t belong at places where people are having fun.. your what they call a half empty guy, you never see the positive you always point out the negative. Well look in a mirror at the end of the day and see how many people are around you... pretty empty picture I’m sure...
Used to go here around 1976-79 when i was about 9-12 years old with my family & cousins & aunt... oh man it was THE BEST thing back then!!! Was hard to believe it closed... I guess it didn't profit enough to offset the property tax. Granted, it could be worse... could you imagine a "Final Days" video for Disneyland? Now THAT would be an epic sized bummer.
Well 6 years later I say it can...not a fan of the constant hike in pricing when there are other rising parks. And that is too bad.