White City Amusement Park
Encyclopedia
For other parks of the same name, see White City (amusement parks)
White City (sometimes listed as White City Amusement Park in print advertisements) was a recreational area located in the Greater Grand Crossing and Woodlawn
community areas
on the south side
of Chicago
from 1905 until the 1950s. At the time of its opening, on May 26, 1905, it was claimed to be the largest park of its type in the United States. It contributed to Chicago's status as the city with the most amusement park
s in the United States until 1908. It eventually introduced the world to the Goodyear Blimp
, which was first assembled at the park.
once used the park as point of reference for the city of Chicago. The park was located at 63rd Street and South Avenue and covered fourteen acres of land with gardens and strolling paths. There were several buildings all lined with white lights, from which the park took its name. One of the buildings housed a ballroom with a dancefloor large enough for 1,000 dancers. The park had a tower that could be seen for 15 miles (24.1 km). The College Inn, a restaurant, could seat 2,500 diners at a time. "White City" was also the name associated with the landscaping and architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition
, held near the same location in 1893 because the exhibition's buildings used plaster of Paris and were painted a chalky white. In its prime the park rivalled Coney Island
as a model for worldwide amusement park architects, designers and planners. There was no general admission ticket, and patrons purchased tickets to use each of the park's features.
, a park in Brooklyn that was widely praised for its amazing spectacles. The park's ambitious plan faced obstacles. The newspapers reported on the construction rush, which led to an incident in February 1905 when three plasterer
s fell 25 feet (7.6 m) from a scaffold, as they worked on a ceiling. After the park had opened, there was one occasion when a ride malfunctioned; a patron was killed, and two other patrons were injured. A year later, the park's roller coaster
also malfunctioned, injuring twelve people. The new park's operation appeared as safe as similar parks, and almost from the beginning, White City was very well-received. The city experienced dramatic increases in ridership on the public transport
ation that took people to White City. In August 1905, ridership on the South Side 'L' Train rose by 11,000 fares over the amount of riders from a year earlier, an increase directly attributed to the opening of the park.
1950s and 1960s newspaper articles associated the park with an owner named Aaron Jones who was a Chicago entrepreneur who had been a successful operator of a penny-arcade business. Jones had visited the World's Columbian Exposition
of 1893 and been so impressed that he aspired to create an amusement park that was similar to it. Earlier 1905-1915 newspaper accounts had said the owners were two Chicago brothers, Morris and Joseph Beifeld. Morris was frequently called the president of the corporation that operated the park, and the 1910 United States Census
states that he is President of the White City Amusement Park. Newspaper articles that reported declining business in 1911 called Morris the "President of White City Construction Company, which operates the Chicago amusement park." Joseph was the proprietor of the Hotel Sherman (originally called the Sherman House) but in an article about self-made millionaires, the Chicago Tribune
noted that he was not only a hotel magnate but "principal stockholder in the White City Amusement and Construction Company." Also in 1907, the Tribune referred to the White City Amusement Park's executives as "President Joseph Beifeld, Treasurer Aaron J. Jones, and General Manager Paul D. Howse." Mr. Howse had been a journalist in Chicago, and his July 10, 1933 obituary
stated that he was one of White City's founders and its first general manager.
Admission was ten cents in the early years, and newspaper ads noted that White City was open rain or shine. In good weather, patrons could enjoy "...the spacious plaza, the outdoor sports and amusements", and if the weather was inclement, there was "...the excellent vaudeville show, the Chicago fire, ...the Baby Incubators, [and] the Wild Animals show..." In August 1906, the list of features at the park included these: Big Otto's Trained Wild Animal Show, Hale's Tours of the World, Flying Airships, Temple of Palmistry, Scenic Railway, Trip to Mars, Infant Incubators, Electric Cooking, the Midget City, and the Chutes.
The park information mentioned a small Ferris wheel
that had six cars and a miniature railroad. The park also featured the first Shoot-the-Chutes
ride in Chicago. It also featured a roller coaster and the Garden Follies Dancers. The park featured regular outdoor concert
s, and it had a roller rink
. The park hosted burlesque
shows, and performers like Annette Kellerman
, Bill Cody and Sophie Tucker
performed at the park regularly. Daredevil aeronautic shows of performers like Horace Wild were also common at the park.
Prior to political correctness
concerns, Midget City was a very popular exhibit. This exhibit featureed 50 men and women who all had dwarfism
; at the time, the word used to describe them was 'midget
s,' and working the carnival
circuit was one of the few jobs open to them. The exhibit showed a miniature city, with a miniature mayor, and even miniature horses. Also popular was the "Chicago Fire" exhibit, which featured an exhibit described as a faithful reproduction of the burning of the city: "... a panoramic display... in miniature, with all the addenda of realistic fire and smoke effects and crumbling of buildings..."
Beginning in the summer of 1906, the Chicago Tribune newspaper made use of White City to hold an annual benefit for Chicago's hospitals, with the proceeds devoted to helping babies who needed care. In addition to the regular exhibits, there were well-known bands of the day that came to perform: for example, in August 1907, the Kilties, a Canadian band that played Scottish music, performed traditional Scottish folk music and folk dances. The Baby Incubators exhibit, a feature of several other fairs and parks of that time, attracted much attention and many donations. There is evidence that tiny infants were displayed at White City from the park's earliest days. The stories of the struggle for survival of these so-called "incubator babies" even made the west coast newspapers. (For example, a story of a 1 pound, 4 oz. infant from Indiana, called the "Tiniest Baby in the World", was written up in the San Francisco Chronicle
, 20 July 1905, p. 2) At the time, not every hospital had incubators, and the Chicago Tribune was among the newspapers that used the Baby Incubator displays to raise money so that all hospitals in the Chicago area would have them. By 1908, another area amusement park, Riverview Park, was also involved in this cause. From 1906 through 1920, a doctor, identified in some sources as simply "Dr. Couney", and elsewhere as Dr. M.A. McConey or Dr. M.A. Couney maintained an exhibit of an incubator in which live infants were tended, including the daughter of the editor of the Chicago Tribune.
In October 1910, White City served as the home of a major Christian
evangelistic crusade. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman
and Mr. Charles M. Alexander
made use of the ballroom, which seated nearly 4000, and they brought with them a chorus of several hundred people. The evangelists planned to make appearances all over the Chicago area during the month, but wanted to do something very memorable to begin their revival
. They felt that White City was the place to launch the crusade in a very spectacular fashion.
In late September 1911, White City experienced a serious fire, as flames swept through the southern section of the park. Newspaper reports said it started in a storage area near the railway, and it attracted a large crowd. A strong north wind kept the fire contained to the rear of the park, which prevented a nearby 200 foot tower in the center of the boardwalk from being destroyed. Firefighters were able to put the fire out without anyone sustaining serious injuries. The scenic railway and half of the Figure 8 took the brunt of the damage.
During the early 1920s, the park continued to be involved with charity benefits. A Chicago Tribune advice columnist whose pen name was "Sally Joy Brown" sponsored a children's event beginning in 1923. Sally Joy's column had become famous for getting readers to do good deeds to help the poor, and even children often participated in lending a hand. Now, the newspaper wanted to provide free access to the park for 100 lucky boys and girls who sent in the best letters explaining why they wanted to come to Sally's party and spend a day at White City. Many of the children who responded had never been to an amusement park. This content continued into the early 1930s, when the "Sally Joy" of that time was a woman named Ann Nangle.
White City served as the place of assembly and departure point for the first Goodyear Blimp
, called the "Wingfoot Air Express". Both B. F. Goodrich and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
assembled dirigibles at the park for the United States Navy
. A dirigible serviced the park, bringing passengers from Chicago's Grant Park
. On July 21, 1919, the dirigible run crashed
into the Illinois Trust & Savings Building on LaSalle Street
, killing twelve and injuring twenty-eight. The pilot, John A. Boettner was saved by his parachute. He was arrested, pending an investigation of the tragedy, but later released without charges. This crash resulted in the closure of the Grant Park Airstrip and the creation of the Chicago Air Park (currently Midway International Airport).
There was another fire at the park in early July 1925, and although it did some damage, it was contained without any serious injuries. A later fire in June 1927, however, was much more serious. Starting in the ballroom, it spread and did over $200,000 in damage; the tower that was not harmed in the 1911 fire finally was destroyed in this blaze. Some historians believe the 1927 fire signalled the beginning of the end for the park.
re-negotiated it and the park remained open. But the Depression
, along with the ongoing problems from the fires of 1925 and 1927, had a very negative impact on White City. Although 1930 still wasn't too bad for White City, with each successive year, attendance declined, and by 1933, the company that operated it was unable to pay the taxes that were due, causing the park to be placed in receivership
.
White City continued to deteriorate until it was condemned in 1939 and its facilities were auctioned off in 1946.
In 1945, the land on which White City had stood was designated for a co-operative housing development for African-Americans. The irony, as reporters from black newspapers like the Chicago Defender
quickly pointed out, was that the history of the White City Amusement Park had been one of de facto segregation. Black people were discouraged from attending during the park's early years. As far back as 1912, there had been comments that the name "White City" was very appropriate, given how it seemed to be a park for white people, and where black people served as objects of ridicule: one game was called the "African Dip", and it involved patrons throwing projectiles at the head of a black person, and trying to hit him. Black columnists were irate that some black men willingly took these kinds of jobs. Admission policies were desegregated when the neighborhood changed and more people of color resided nearby. The housing development was to be called Parkway Gardens, and at the time, it was seen as a hopeful sign that a neglected neighborhood would have new housing.
The same anti-black policies that had beset the amusement park also applied to the roller rink at the park. The rink was still open, and during in the 1940s, it became the site of demonstrations and brawls as Blacks fought for their right to roller skate indoors. In 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality
was involved in one of these rallies. In 1946, the Congress of Racial Equality sued the management of the rink, saying it was violating the Illinois Civil Rights Law. Eventually, the White City rink was desegregated and changed its name to Park City. However, the Park City rink closed in 1958.
Today, White City Amusement Park, which was once considered the equal of other turn of the century parks like Coney Island
, is all but forgotten; but in its heyday, it was known as "the city of a million electric lights", because its tower was an amazing sight that could be seen for 15 miles.
White City (sometimes listed as White City Amusement Park in print advertisements) was a recreational area located in the Greater Grand Crossing and Woodlawn
Woodlawn, Chicago
Woodlawn, located in the South Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of 77 well defined Chicago community areas. It is bounded by Lake Michigan to the east, 60th Street to the north, Martin Luther King Drive to the west, and, mostly, 67th Street to the south...
community areas
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
on the south side
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
from 1905 until the 1950s. At the time of its opening, on May 26, 1905, it was claimed to be the largest park of its type in the United States. It contributed to Chicago's status as the city with the most amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
s in the United States until 1908. It eventually introduced the world to the Goodyear Blimp
Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
, which was first assembled at the park.
Background
TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
once used the park as point of reference for the city of Chicago. The park was located at 63rd Street and South Avenue and covered fourteen acres of land with gardens and strolling paths. There were several buildings all lined with white lights, from which the park took its name. One of the buildings housed a ballroom with a dancefloor large enough for 1,000 dancers. The park had a tower that could be seen for 15 miles (24.1 km). The College Inn, a restaurant, could seat 2,500 diners at a time. "White City" was also the name associated with the landscaping and architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, held near the same location in 1893 because the exhibition's buildings used plaster of Paris and were painted a chalky white. In its prime the park rivalled Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
as a model for worldwide amusement park architects, designers and planners. There was no general admission ticket, and patrons purchased tickets to use each of the park's features.
Early history
White City was originally envisioned to be like DreamlandDreamland (amusement park)
Dreamland was an ambitious amusement park at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City from 1904 to 1911. It contained primarily freak shows.- History :Created by a Tammany Hall-connected businessman William H...
, a park in Brooklyn that was widely praised for its amazing spectacles. The park's ambitious plan faced obstacles. The newspapers reported on the construction rush, which led to an incident in February 1905 when three plasterer
Plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
s fell 25 feet (7.6 m) from a scaffold, as they worked on a ceiling. After the park had opened, there was one occasion when a ride malfunctioned; a patron was killed, and two other patrons were injured. A year later, the park's roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
also malfunctioned, injuring twelve people. The new park's operation appeared as safe as similar parks, and almost from the beginning, White City was very well-received. The city experienced dramatic increases in ridership on the public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
ation that took people to White City. In August 1905, ridership on the South Side 'L' Train rose by 11,000 fares over the amount of riders from a year earlier, an increase directly attributed to the opening of the park.
1950s and 1960s newspaper articles associated the park with an owner named Aaron Jones who was a Chicago entrepreneur who had been a successful operator of a penny-arcade business. Jones had visited the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
of 1893 and been so impressed that he aspired to create an amusement park that was similar to it. Earlier 1905-1915 newspaper accounts had said the owners were two Chicago brothers, Morris and Joseph Beifeld. Morris was frequently called the president of the corporation that operated the park, and the 1910 United States Census
United States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
states that he is President of the White City Amusement Park. Newspaper articles that reported declining business in 1911 called Morris the "President of White City Construction Company, which operates the Chicago amusement park." Joseph was the proprietor of the Hotel Sherman (originally called the Sherman House) but in an article about self-made millionaires, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
noted that he was not only a hotel magnate but "principal stockholder in the White City Amusement and Construction Company." Also in 1907, the Tribune referred to the White City Amusement Park's executives as "President Joseph Beifeld, Treasurer Aaron J. Jones, and General Manager Paul D. Howse." Mr. Howse had been a journalist in Chicago, and his July 10, 1933 obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
stated that he was one of White City's founders and its first general manager.
Admission was ten cents in the early years, and newspaper ads noted that White City was open rain or shine. In good weather, patrons could enjoy "...the spacious plaza, the outdoor sports and amusements", and if the weather was inclement, there was "...the excellent vaudeville show, the Chicago fire, ...the Baby Incubators, [and] the Wild Animals show..." In August 1906, the list of features at the park included these: Big Otto's Trained Wild Animal Show, Hale's Tours of the World, Flying Airships, Temple of Palmistry, Scenic Railway, Trip to Mars, Infant Incubators, Electric Cooking, the Midget City, and the Chutes.
The park information mentioned a small Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
that had six cars and a miniature railroad. The park also featured the first Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....
ride in Chicago. It also featured a roller coaster and the Garden Follies Dancers. The park featured regular outdoor concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, and it had a roller rink
Roller rink
A roller rink is a hard surface used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, and recreational skating...
. The park hosted burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
shows, and performers like Annette Kellerman
Annette Kellerman
Annette Marie Sarah Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer...
, Bill Cody and Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
performed at the park regularly. Daredevil aeronautic shows of performers like Horace Wild were also common at the park.
Prior to political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
concerns, Midget City was a very popular exhibit. This exhibit featureed 50 men and women who all had dwarfism
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
; at the time, the word used to describe them was 'midget
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
s,' and working the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
circuit was one of the few jobs open to them. The exhibit showed a miniature city, with a miniature mayor, and even miniature horses. Also popular was the "Chicago Fire" exhibit, which featured an exhibit described as a faithful reproduction of the burning of the city: "... a panoramic display... in miniature, with all the addenda of realistic fire and smoke effects and crumbling of buildings..."
Beginning in the summer of 1906, the Chicago Tribune newspaper made use of White City to hold an annual benefit for Chicago's hospitals, with the proceeds devoted to helping babies who needed care. In addition to the regular exhibits, there were well-known bands of the day that came to perform: for example, in August 1907, the Kilties, a Canadian band that played Scottish music, performed traditional Scottish folk music and folk dances. The Baby Incubators exhibit, a feature of several other fairs and parks of that time, attracted much attention and many donations. There is evidence that tiny infants were displayed at White City from the park's earliest days. The stories of the struggle for survival of these so-called "incubator babies" even made the west coast newspapers. (For example, a story of a 1 pound, 4 oz. infant from Indiana, called the "Tiniest Baby in the World", was written up in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, 20 July 1905, p. 2) At the time, not every hospital had incubators, and the Chicago Tribune was among the newspapers that used the Baby Incubator displays to raise money so that all hospitals in the Chicago area would have them. By 1908, another area amusement park, Riverview Park, was also involved in this cause. From 1906 through 1920, a doctor, identified in some sources as simply "Dr. Couney", and elsewhere as Dr. M.A. McConey or Dr. M.A. Couney maintained an exhibit of an incubator in which live infants were tended, including the daughter of the editor of the Chicago Tribune.
In October 1910, White City served as the home of a major Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
evangelistic crusade. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman
John Wilbur Chapman
John Wilbur Chapman was a Presbyterian evangelist in the late 19th Century, generally traveling with gospel singer Charles Alexander. His parents were Alexander H. and Lorinda Chapman.-Faith & Education:Chapman grew up attending Quaker Day School and Methodist Sunday School...
and Mr. Charles M. Alexander
Charles McCallon Alexander
Charles McCallon Alexander , a native of East Tennessee, was a popular 19th Century gospel singer who worked the evangelistic circuit for many years. Over the course of his ministry, he toured with R. A. Torrey and John Wilbur Chapman, most notably. In 1904, Alexander married Helen Cadbury,...
made use of the ballroom, which seated nearly 4000, and they brought with them a chorus of several hundred people. The evangelists planned to make appearances all over the Chicago area during the month, but wanted to do something very memorable to begin their revival
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
. They felt that White City was the place to launch the crusade in a very spectacular fashion.
In late September 1911, White City experienced a serious fire, as flames swept through the southern section of the park. Newspaper reports said it started in a storage area near the railway, and it attracted a large crowd. A strong north wind kept the fire contained to the rear of the park, which prevented a nearby 200 foot tower in the center of the boardwalk from being destroyed. Firefighters were able to put the fire out without anyone sustaining serious injuries. The scenic railway and half of the Figure 8 took the brunt of the damage.
During the early 1920s, the park continued to be involved with charity benefits. A Chicago Tribune advice columnist whose pen name was "Sally Joy Brown" sponsored a children's event beginning in 1923. Sally Joy's column had become famous for getting readers to do good deeds to help the poor, and even children often participated in lending a hand. Now, the newspaper wanted to provide free access to the park for 100 lucky boys and girls who sent in the best letters explaining why they wanted to come to Sally's party and spend a day at White City. Many of the children who responded had never been to an amusement park. This content continued into the early 1930s, when the "Sally Joy" of that time was a woman named Ann Nangle.
White City served as the place of assembly and departure point for the first Goodyear Blimp
Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is the collective name for a fleet of blimps operated by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for advertising purposes and for use as a television camera platform for aerial views of sporting events...
, called the "Wingfoot Air Express". Both B. F. Goodrich and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
assembled dirigibles at the park for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. A dirigible serviced the park, bringing passengers from Chicago's Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
. On July 21, 1919, the dirigible run crashed
Wingfoot Air Express Crash
The Wingfoot Air Express was a dirigible that crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago on Monday July 21, 1919. The Type FD dirigible, owned by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was transporting people from Grant Park to the White City amusement park...
into the Illinois Trust & Savings Building on LaSalle Street
LaSalle Street
LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Sieur de La Salle, an early explorer of Illinois. The portion that runs through the Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district...
, killing twelve and injuring twenty-eight. The pilot, John A. Boettner was saved by his parachute. He was arrested, pending an investigation of the tragedy, but later released without charges. This crash resulted in the closure of the Grant Park Airstrip and the creation of the Chicago Air Park (currently Midway International Airport).
There was another fire at the park in early July 1925, and although it did some damage, it was contained without any serious injuries. A later fire in June 1927, however, was much more serious. Starting in the ballroom, it spread and did over $200,000 in damage; the tower that was not harmed in the 1911 fire finally was destroyed in this blaze. Some historians believe the 1927 fire signalled the beginning of the end for the park.
Later History
White City had experienced periodic financial problems because attendance was dependent on the economy. As far back as 1915, there had been a question of whether the park's lease would be renewed, but finally the landlord, Chicago business mogul J. Ogden ArmourJ. Ogden Armour
Jonathan Ogden Armour was an American meatpacking magnate in Chicago, and owner and president of Armour and Company. During his tenure as president, Armour & Co...
re-negotiated it and the park remained open. But the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, along with the ongoing problems from the fires of 1925 and 1927, had a very negative impact on White City. Although 1930 still wasn't too bad for White City, with each successive year, attendance declined, and by 1933, the company that operated it was unable to pay the taxes that were due, causing the park to be placed in receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
.
White City continued to deteriorate until it was condemned in 1939 and its facilities were auctioned off in 1946.
In 1945, the land on which White City had stood was designated for a co-operative housing development for African-Americans. The irony, as reporters from black newspapers like the Chicago Defender
Chicago Defender
The Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
quickly pointed out, was that the history of the White City Amusement Park had been one of de facto segregation. Black people were discouraged from attending during the park's early years. As far back as 1912, there had been comments that the name "White City" was very appropriate, given how it seemed to be a park for white people, and where black people served as objects of ridicule: one game was called the "African Dip", and it involved patrons throwing projectiles at the head of a black person, and trying to hit him. Black columnists were irate that some black men willingly took these kinds of jobs. Admission policies were desegregated when the neighborhood changed and more people of color resided nearby. The housing development was to be called Parkway Gardens, and at the time, it was seen as a hopeful sign that a neglected neighborhood would have new housing.
The same anti-black policies that had beset the amusement park also applied to the roller rink at the park. The rink was still open, and during in the 1940s, it became the site of demonstrations and brawls as Blacks fought for their right to roller skate indoors. In 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
was involved in one of these rallies. In 1946, the Congress of Racial Equality sued the management of the rink, saying it was violating the Illinois Civil Rights Law. Eventually, the White City rink was desegregated and changed its name to Park City. However, the Park City rink closed in 1958.
Today, White City Amusement Park, which was once considered the equal of other turn of the century parks like Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, is all but forgotten; but in its heyday, it was known as "the city of a million electric lights", because its tower was an amazing sight that could be seen for 15 miles.
See also
- White City
- White City (amusement park)White City (amusement park)White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in popularity in the last few years of the 19th century...