The Bobs was a
wooden roller coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also ...
located at
Riverview Park in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. It was built in 1924 and was demolished with the rest of the park in 1967. The Bobs was built by Prior and Church and designed by
Fred Church. According to professional review of the blueprints the Bobs had a maximum height of , a drop of , and reached speeds of up to .
[Gee, Derek; Lopez, Ralph (2000). Laugh Your Troubles Away: The Complete History of Riverview Park, Chicago, Illinois. Livonia, MI: Sharpshooter Productions. ]
A modernized version called
Raging Wolf Bobs
Raging Wolf Bobs was a wooden roller coaster located at Geauga Lake amusement park in Ohio. Designed by Curtis D. Summers to resemble Bobs, a popular roller coaster at the defunct Riverview Park in Chicago, Raging Wolf Bobs was constructed by t ...
was located at the now defunct
Geauga Lake
Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's fi ...
in
Aurora, Ohio
Aurora is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, and is co-extensive with, and formed from, the former township of Aurora, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve
The Connecti ...
, though it was not considered as intense as the original. A rollback accident that occurred on the ride resulted in a season-long closure. The Bobs was immortalized in American humorist
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...
's broadcast on August 26, 1967.
References
External links
Photograph of the first drop
Former roller coasters in Illinois
Tourist attractions in Chicago
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