Old Chicago
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- This article is about a defunct mall/amusement park; for the restaurant chain, see Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc.
Old Chicago was a combination shopping mall and indoor amusement park that existed in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois from 1975 until 1981.
Designer Robert Brindle conceived of the idea behind Old Chicago after a visit to Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in California and wished to put an entire park - complete with roller coaster, ferris wheel, and water slides - indoors so that it could be open year round. Brindle's concept featured an early 20th century decor inside, with the mall featuring smaller local shops and boutiques rather than the traditional department stores that anchored most malls.
Over two years in the making, Old Chicago was opened to the public June 17, 1975 in a pre-grand opening party that attracted over 10,000 invited guests, causing massive traffic jams. Construction on the mall was not yet complete and much of the electrical wiring was still exposed. When local officials saw the situation, the mall owners were told that they will not be able to open June 26 as scheduled. Construction crews worked round-the-clock to complete the project, and after a last minute inspection, the mall opened on time to another crowd of over 15,000. In the mall's first months of operation, it received over 50,000 visitors each weekend.
Soon, problems began developing with the mall's hurried construction. As early as July 1975, a malfunction in the mall's sprinkler system caused a six-hour shutdown of the mall. Later that year a small fire in a trash compactor forced an evacuation of the mall. In November, acrobat Jimmy Troy fell to his death from the trapeze during a circus at the mall.
Only six months after opening, the mall was on the verge of bankruptcy due to millions of dollars in overruns in construction. Brindle was sacked as general manager, and Illinois Central Railroad (an investor in the project) installed Clyde Farman.
The outdoor Six Flags Great America (then known as Marriott's Great America) theme park opened in 1976, drawing away visitors from Old Chicago. Unusual stores, boutiques, and a lack of recognizable anchor stores proved to be another of Old Chicago's undoings; the mall was not very successful in attracting local residents week after week because of a lack of stores they wanted to shop in. Late in 1976, as attendance declined, stores in the mall began closing down.
Illinois Central took over the entire operations of the mall in early 1977, rescheduling the hours of operation and spending over $8 million adding new attractions. A series of management changes occurred, but the shops continued closing one by one.
By 1978, the mall began closing on Mondays and Tuesdays. More fires struck during 1979: The Old Chicago Tobacco Company caught fire when a tobacco dryer malfunctioned. There were no sprinklers in the area where the fire started. A Fourth of July fireworks display also ignited prematurely causing minor injuries to two people.
Finally, in early 1980 the entire amusement park shut down and the rides were sold. The last remaining stores left soon afterward, as management attempted to pitch the idea of recreating the mall as a discount outlet, then as a soundstage for motion pictures. Neither plan attracted investors, and the mall was boarded up permanently in August 1981. A group of investors purchased the enormous building shortly afterward with plans to convert it into a casino. The town of Bolingbrook nixed the idea and the building was put up for auction in 1982. No bids were received. Illinois Central expressed their desire to demolish the structure, but the town of Bolingbrook - in the hopes of finding a buyer - changed their zoning laws to prevent its destruction. While Bolingbrook sought a new buyer for the building, structural damage from roof leaks began ruining the vacant building. Vandals repeatedly broke in to the building causing more damage.
In 1985, the building was finally sold to investment banker C.L. Carr, who initially pledged to keep the building open as an entertainment complex, but later attempted to sell parcels of the Old Chicago land, which would force the eventual demolition of the building.
Last-ditch efforts to salvage the enormous building - as an international trade center for the People's Republic of China, as a venue for the 1992 Worlds Fair, even as a Major League Baseball stadium - would all fail and the building was demolished in the spring of 1986.
[edit] Old Chicago's Legacy
Director Brian De Palma filmed scenes from his 1978 film "The Fury" at Old Chicago.
Regarded as a colossal flop, the concept of an amusement park inside a mall proved workable years later at two famous malls—West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.
The street where the mall once stood is still named Old Chicago Drive. A used car auction occupies the property today.
The Chicago Loop roller coaster that stood inside the mall's amusement park is now called the Canobie Corkscrew and operates at Canobie Lake Park.
