Kiddieland in Melrose Park: 80 Years of Rides, Then Gone
Kiddieland opened with six ponies in 1929 and closed on September 27, 2009, after a family fight over the land. Its history, why it closed, and where the rides went.
If you grew up anywhere near the west suburbs, you probably have a Kiddieland memory. The little trains. The Little Dipper. The tall sign at North Avenue and First Avenue that meant the car ride was almost over. For eighty years it was where Chicagoland kids rode their first roller coaster. Then, on a Sunday in late September 2009, it closed for good.
Six ponies in 1929
Kiddieland started small. In 1929, a Melrose Park builder and contractor named Arthur Fritz bought six ponies and started giving rides to local kids on his property at North and First. The Great Depression was just beginning, and a few cents for a pony ride was an affordable treat for families who didn't have much else. Miniature gasoline-powered cars followed soon after.
The park grew with the region. In 1940 Fritz added a German carousel, miniature steam locomotives, the Little Auto Ride, the Roto Whip and a Ferris wheel. In 1950 came the ride most people remember: the Little Dipper, a wooden kiddie coaster that became the first coaster for generations of Chicago kids. Over the following decades the park added bumper cars, a log flume, a pirate ship, a water coaster and more, reaching about 27 rides at its peak.
A family business to the end
Kiddieland stayed in the family the whole way. Fritz's children joined during the 1950s expansion, and after Fritz died in 1967, three of his grandchildren took over operations in 1977. That's part of why it felt different from the big parks. It was built for little kids and run by the same family for generations.
Why it closed
The end didn't come from a lack of crowds. It came from a fight over the land.
The family members who operated the park didn't own the ground under it. Other members of the family did. In 2004 the landowners sued the operators, citing problems with insurance and the use of fireworks. Cook County courts dismissed the suit, and an appeals court upheld that. But in early 2009 the landowners declined to extend the lease, and that was that. The park announced its final season.
Kiddieland's last day was September 27, 2009. Families lined up for one more ride on the Little Dipper and one more trip around the train loop.
Where the rides went
The park was demolished in 2010, and a Costco now stands on the site. Much of Kiddieland didn't disappear, though. It scattered:
- The Little Dipper went to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, where kids still ride it.
- The Roto Whip went to Santa's Village in East Dundee.
- The German carousel sold at auction for $557,000.
- Other rides went to parks in Michigan, Georgia and elsewhere around the country.
The famous Kiddieland sign was saved and moved to the parking lot next to the Melrose Park Public Library, where you can still go see it. In 2012 the village gave a stretch of First Avenue the honorary name Kiddieland Amusement Park Road.
Why people still talk about it
Chicagoland has lost plenty of amusement parks. Riverview closed in 1967. Old Chicago in Bolingbrook lasted only about five years. Kiddieland lasted longer than any of them, and it was the one sized for little kids. For a lot of families it was a three-generation place: grandparents who rode the ponies, parents who rode the Little Dipper, kids who rode it one last time in 2009.
If you have a Kiddieland memory, we'd love to hear it. Next in our Gone but Not Forgotten series: Riverview Park, and the old Chicago malls that didn't make it.
Sources (4)
Kiddieland Amusement Park, Wikipedia; WTTW: Remembering Kiddieland; Crain's Chicago Business: Where Kiddieland sat, new Costco could rise; Historical Marker Database.
Photo: 20070916 10 Kiddieland by David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA, CC BY 2.0.