Riverview+open= SFGAm never would have been?

Sorry guys but I had to come up with the shortest possible topic title to explain what I am about to say.

If Riverview park in Chicago were still operating today, do you think Marriott would have even considered setting up shop in Gurnee to construct Great America? Personally I dont think they would have.

As Riverview Mike stated in another topic, Riverview had 7 coasters when it closed and this is back in 1967. Correct me if I am wrong , but Riverview possibly had the most coasters of any park at that time.

Marriott most likely would not have even looked at the Chicago area if Riverview was still in existence. If this park was open today it would probably be owned by one of the major companies(SF, CF, or Paramount). I say this because Riverview was a huge park at the time before it closed its doors.

Your opinions and thoughts are appreciated.

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""An hour wait for a 2 minute thrill. Yes, we need our heads examined""

You are right, it would be like a park opening in Toledo right next to Cedar Point. There is a chance Marriot might have done it and tried to make it a destination for vacations like Orlando has, but probably not in Chicago because of winter.

As of 1967, I beleive that statement would be correct. Blackpool had 6 at the time.

Riverviews' at it's peak had 12 coasters (IIRC). However, I don't think this would have prevented Marriot from building a Great America there, since up until the 1950's, Chicago had as many as 5 parks at times.

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If that would have happend, it might have ended up like SFEG. Riverview was located in the middle of the city. They probably would have run out of room, and end up needing to move. Hopefully they would have moved to a place where they can expand, unlike SFEG, but still, why bother? They would have lost the Bobs... Honestly though, I would give up the existance of SFGAm for just 1 ride on the Bobs... So if they didn't need to move, maybe I'd rather have it be that way.

But all of that doesn't matter. The park is gone. It really sucks, it would be cool to have one of the oldest parks in the country just 2 1/2 hours away from me.

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Hi! I'm Hungry, whats your name?

This is unbelievable - 2 Riverview topics in one day. I think SFGAm would have opened regardless of Riverview. The 70's was a time for "theme" parks which Riverview never would be. If Riverview still existed today, it would most likely be like Kennywood which respects its past while still installing new rides. It has always amazed me that the Bobs have not been recreated at another park. (Are you listening Will Koch or Dick Knoebel??)

Mike

Riverview Mike said:
It has always amazed me that the Bobs have not been recreated at another park. (Are you listening Will Koch or Dick Knoebel??)
Mike

I thought the Raging Wolf Bobs at SFWOA was a recreation of it. Even though it gets poor reviews it was still meant to be somewhat of replica.
Riverview Mike, you say that Riverview park would be like Kennywood with preserving history and still installing rides. That would basically put it in the same category as CP. If that was the case, we would all be happy.
Now that I think about it, if Marriott still opened Great America, we would have the luxury of Ohioans with more variety.

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""An hour wait for a 2 minute thrill. Yes, we need our heads examined""

Chicago is a huge market. I'm sure it would have opened. If not Marriot, then Six Flags or someone else.

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Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze

Yes Chitown, RWB is a very loose replica of the old Bobs. ;)
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Actually, if Marriot's Great America were not there, I bet we would have a Paramount Park in Chicago.

How so? Well, in 1974 KECO was shopping markets in order to expand their chain of parks. The company had built King's Island and King's Dominion and was shopping both the Toronto and/or Chicago markets for the location of their next park.

Marriot jumped the gun and obtained land and permits to build GAM in 1975. (From what I recall, GAM opened in 1976.) Shortly therafter, KECO aquired Carowinds and solidified plans to develop Wonderland in Ontario.

Wonderland opened in 1981, but may very well have been in Chicago had GAM not sprung up. Obviously, KECO was bought/sold/bought and their parks now operate under the Paramount name.
Shaggy

*** This post was edited by Shaggy on 12/2/2001. ***

It took only a year to build the park?

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It's important to recall that SFGAm is not in the city of Chicago; rather, it was built to be directly between Chicago and Milwaukee. SFGAm draws people from Chicago, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison, and other nearby cities. Therefore, even if Riverview was still around in 70's, and even if that saturated the Chicago market (which I don't think it would have), it's likely the park still would have been built because of the additional draws from other cities. I don't remember where exactly Milwaukee lies, but I believe it's in the top ten largest cities in the USA.
-Nate

*** This post was edited by coasterdude318 on 12/3/2001. ***

Chitown said
I thought the Raging Wolf Bobs at SFWOA was a recreation of it. Even though it gets poor reviews it was still meant to be somewhat of replica.
As one of the few buzzers who have ridden both, I will tell you RWB has very little in common with Riverview's Bobs. According to ACE's Guide to Ride, RWB is "loosely based" on Riverview's Bobs. IMO RWB has very little in common with the original. If I were to pick an existing coaster that reminds me of the Bobs it would be Legend.

Regarding CP, respecting its history, I cannot disagree more. Much as I love CP, there is very little history left. Their oldest coaster, BlueStreak is only from 1964 and even the classic Derby Racer is not originally from CP.

Mike

*** This post was edited by Riverview Mike on 12/2/2001. ***

Wouldnt it be cool if SFGAm hired CCI to build a replica of "The Bobs" at their park? I think this would bring the Riverview patrons that are still around out to SFGAm for some reliving of old times. Now that I think about it Riverview Mike, you are probably right about CP. After all, it is corporate run. Who knows how Riverview would be run today or who would own it but it would still be great to have it around.
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""An hour wait for a 2 minute thrill. Yes, we need our heads examined""

I have a question that's sort of out of the blue here. Was Raging Wolf Bobs ever a good coaster and is it possible for it to be a good one even with retracking? According to Mitch Hawker's poll, RWB has always been extremely low rated, but I hope in someway shape or form it can really be a great coaster, because it has a great layout and is really a beautiful struction.

On a side note: Please look at the Riverview Bobs for your next coaster Dick!! Or is anyone else up for the recreation of the Idora Wildcat or Crystal Beach Cyclone?? Oh well. I'll dream.

How about all three? ;)
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Riverview Mike:
can you recommend any web sites with information and photos of Riverview?

Liz

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"The only real limit to height is what people are willing to get on." - Ron Toomer

live4MF said:
Riverview Mike:
can you recommend any web sites with information and photos of Riverview?
Liz

Try www.riverviewparkchicago.com. This is Sharpshooter Productions site and has lots of pix and history. They also produce a book and video about Riverview which is available on the site. It is run by former employees.
Mike

thanks, Riverview Mike, that site is great. It's so sad, I live a few blocks from where Riverview was, and I would love nothing more than to have rollercoasters within walking distance. Sure would make me a lot happier!

Liz

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"The only real limit to height is what people are willing to get on." - Ron Toomer

I don't think that the existence of Riverview would have stopped the development of Marriott's/SFGAm (or another large themer). Chicago is a huge market, and could very easily support a large theme park and a traditional amusement park. I'd even go so far as to say that the emergence of a large theme park may have been beneficial to Riverview, as their niche in the market would have then been clearly defined, indirectly addressing the problems of being "land locked." Riverview could never have competed with a large theme park, but they wouldn't have necessarily needed to. A traditional park wouldn't have to expand into a modern themer if that niche in the market is already filled. In my idealized, very optimistic vision, people would have recognized the value of having an alternative to the themer, and supported both. ;)

Too bad Riverview couldn't have stuck it out until the "boom" of the early to mid 70's...Who knows what would have happened.

A friend of mine used to live very close to the old Riverview location, at Diversey and Western, and I can't even count the number of times we passed by Belmont and Western and said "If only..." I can't imagine how great it would be to hop on the bus after work to head over to the park.

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