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White City (Chicago, Illinois)

USA / Illinois / Chicago / Chicago, Illinois
 amusement park, historical layer / disappeared object
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Amusement park in Chicago from 1905 until largely condemned in 1939 and auctioned off in 1946, though at least one element, a roller rink, survived until at least 1958. First assembly site for Goodyear Blimp. South boundary shown in 1921 map to be at 65th Street, in 1934 map shown to extend to 66th Street. Hugely popular and the site for civic and charitable events during its heyday, it was known as the "city of a million lights" and its tower could be seen from 15 miles away. When designated in 1945 to be a site for a co-operative housing development for African-Americans, Parkway Gardens (which still occupies the site), the name "White City" was seen as ironic as the amusement park had been strictly segregated for most of its history and had racist attractions. Indeed, the roller rink left over from the park remained segregated through the 1940's, retaining the name "White City" though the surrounding neighborhood had become mixed, and became the focus of racial protests and brawls until eventually named "Park City" and desegregated. In addition to the Wikipedia article, there's some good photos at chuckmanchicagonostalgia.wordpress.com/?s=white+city+am... and interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/white-city-amusement-p...
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Coordinates:   41°46'38"N   87°36'59"W
This article was last modified 11 years ago