HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Harlem Park
OR:
Harlem Park on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Harlem Park was an
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
and
Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...
site in
Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
that operated from 1891 to 1928. It was located on 47 wooded acres (0.2 km2) east of Harlem Blvd. on the west bank of the Rock River on Rockford's north side. The main entrance was located between Harper and Brown Avenues.


Rides

Harlem Park was known for its roller coaster, "The Famous Switchback Railway - Cars Run 1100 Feet In 26 Seconds". The park also featured: Steam Merry Go Around (later Electric Carousel), Three Way Figure Eight Scenic Railway, Shoot the Chutes, Giant Flying Circle Swing, Maze, The Old Mill (Tunnel of Love), Laughing Gallery Fun House, boat rentals, picnic grounds, a 5000-seat auditorium, a dance pavilion, a roller skating palace, a swimming pool (1922), and the midway bordered on both sides with such attractions as the ice cream parlor, lunch room, games of skill, and the rides.


Chautauqua

Beginning in 1902, the Assembly of the Rockford Chautauqua met at Harlem Park for two weeks each summer, with attendance of over 80,000 annually.{{better source, date=May 2018 Participants could rent tents and stay overnight on site, enjoying educational and entertainment programs during the day and evening. Lecturers included
William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
, "Fighting Bob" La Follette and
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...
.


Transportation

The Rockford Street Railway Company developed Harlem Park as a terminus for its streetcar line serving the north side of the city. A car barn stood near the park between Harlem Blvd. and Clinton Street on the south side of Brown Ave. During the summer, cars departed every 15 minutes from the center of town, bound for the park. The park was also served by two steamboats running two miles upstream from the center of town and by an electric ferry bringing park patrons across the river.


Demise

At the close of the 1928 summer season the park was closed, and some of the attractions were moved to Central Park (1921-1942) on the west edge of the city. In preparation for a residential subdivision, a 2,000-foot seawall was built on the river bank and the land behind it was built up by as much as six feet with material dredged from the river. The
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
brought the project to a standstill and it was 1948 before the first home was built in the Rock Terrace subdivision.


References


External links


Baie, Lyle H. (1987). ''Rockford's Harlem Park, The People and The Times''

Program catalog, 1905 Chautauqua, Rockford, Illinois
Defunct companies based in Illinois Defunct amusement parks in the United States Amusement parks opened in 1891 Chautauqua Companies based in Rockford, Illinois Amusement parks closed in 1928 1891 establishments in Illinois 1928 disestablishments in Illinois