Old Chicago - History

History

Designer Robert Brindle conceived of the idea behind Old Chicago after a visit to Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Park, California, and wished to put an entire park - complete with roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and log flumes - 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 on June 17, 1975, in a grand opening party that attracted over 10,000 invited guests, causing massive traffic jams. The Old Chicago TV commercial featured an 18-year-old Michelle Mauthe tap-dancing on top of the dome during high winds, while a cameraman filmed from inside a helicopter.

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 would not be able to open June 26 as scheduled. Construction crews worked around 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 removed 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 visitors away 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.