Why Chicago Lost Its Beloved Family Playground Kiddieland

On September 27, 2009, the gates of Kiddieland in Melrose Park, Illinois closed at eight in the evening and never opened again. The oldest family amusement park in the Chicago area had started eighty years earlier with six ponies. By the end it had more than thirty rides on seventeen acres. This video tells the full story of Kiddieland. A local builder bought six ponies in 1929, and four generations of one family kept the park running after him. You will see how the hand-carved carousel, the Little Dipper roller coaster, the miniature steam trains, the Log Jammer flume and the Volcano Play Center became part of childhood for families across the western suburbs. The park outlasted the Great Depression, the Second World War and the rise of giant theme parks. A lease ended it. One branch of the family owned the land and another branch owned the rides. When the landowners declined to extend the lease in 2009, the park had nowhere to go. The video covers the lawsuit that failed twice in court, the final season, the November 2009 auction and the Costco that now stands at North Avenue and First Avenue. It also follows the rides afterward. The Little Dipper still carries riders at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. The Roto Whip spins in Dundee, a Ferris wheel turns beside a windmill in Michigan, and the old Jack and Jill sign lights up each night outside the Melrose Park Public Library. If Kiddieland was part of your childhood, tell us in the comments which ride you remember best and where in the world you are watching from. Subscribe for more stories about the places that shaped childhood and the reasons they disappeared. #Kiddieland #MelroseParkIllinois #ChicagoHistory #LostChicago #ChicagoNostalgia #ChicagolandHistory #ChicagoSuburbs #IllinoisHistory #MidwestHistory #LostAmusementParks #ClosedAmusementParks #VanishedAmusementParks #AmusementParkHistory #FamilyAmusementPark #ThemeParkHistory #RetroAmusementParks #LittleDipper #WoodenRollerCoaster #VintageRollerCoasters #CarouselHistory #KiddieRides #SixFlagsGreatAmerica #ChildhoodMemories #NostalgiaTrip #VintageAmerica #AmericanHistory #LostAmericanLandmarks #FamilyBusinessHistory #ForgottenHistory #HistoryDocumentary