Chicago Water Chutes

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Defunct, Operated from to

Defunct Roller Coasters: 3

NameTypeDesignScaleOpenedClosed
Velvet CoasterWoodSit Down
Loop the LoopWoodSit DownExtreme
Figure 8 TobogganWoodSit Down

Details

Area7.5 ac

Etymology

The park was owned by the Chicago Water Chutes Company, but was consistently advertised simply as The Chutes or Chutes Park. A sign at the park entrance read "Chicago Water Chutes".

Location

Stated in the Street Railway Journal, to be located on the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Kedgie Avenue. It's presumed this was a typo or another way Kedzie Avenue was spelled.

Notes

The park advertised a "Turn-Over Railway". It isn't known if this is a prior name for the Loop the Loop or a distinct roller coaster.
An E. Joy Morris ad in a convention issue of the Street Railway Journal claims a device at Chutes Park, Chicago, but it is not clear if it is the coaster or a merry-go-round. It also lists Sans Souci Park and Sharpshooters Park in the same city.
Advertisements mention Hurdle Autos or auto hurdle, it is not clear if this was a gravity ride.
Billboard contains a description of the Hurdle Autos ride "Forty miles per hour is made on the long stretches of the track, while the curves are taken at a speed of eight miles an hour. ... All possibility of danger is eliminated by the construction of the track. Down the middle of the track runs a wooden rail which is securely imbedded in the ground making it absolutely immovable. By means of this rail, along which runs a steering device that is fastened to the independent front wheels of the car all danger of the machines getting out of control of the chauffer is overcome. The rear wheels are unconfined, trailing along the track with a uniformity that varies only with the "skidding" caused by the rapidity with which the cars move. The sensation of the Hurdle is created by the frequent dips in the track, some of which are very abrupt. The exclamations of some of the women as they take a terrifying drop down a steep incline are heard continually in indication of their enjoyment."

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