White City (Chicago)

White City (sometimes listed as White City Amusement Park in print advertisements) was a recreational area located in the Greater Grand Crossing and Woodlawn community areas on the south side of Chicago from 1905 until the 1950s. At the time of its opening, on May 26, 1905, it was claimed to be the largest park of its type in the United States. It contributed to Chicago's status as the city with the most amusement parks in the United States until 1908. It eventually introduced the world to the Goodyear Blimp, which was first assembled at the park.

Time once used the park as point of reference for the city of Chicago. The park was located at 63rd Street and South Park Avenue and covered fourteen acres of land with gardens and strolling paths. There were several buildings all lined with white lights, from which the park took its name. One of the buildings housed a ballroom with a dancefloor large enough for 1,000 dancers. The park had a tower that could be seen for 15 miles (24.1 km). The College Inn, a restaurant, could seat 2,500 diners at a time. "White City" was also the name associated with the landscaping and architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition, held near the same location in 1893 because the exhibition's buildings used plaster of Paris and were painted a chalky white. In its prime the park rivalled Coney Island as a model for worldwide amusement park architects, designers and planners. There was no general admission ticket, and patrons purchased tickets to use each of the park's features.

White City was originally envisioned to be like Dreamland, a park in Brooklyn that was widely praised for its amazing spectacles. The park's ambitious plan faced obstacles. The newspapers reported on the construction rush, which led to an incident in February 1905 when three plasterers fell 25 feet (7.6 m) from a scaffold, as they worked on a ceiling. After the park had opened, there was one occasion when a ride malfunctioned; a patron was killed, and two other patrons were injured. A year later, the park's roller coaster also malfunctioned, injuring twelve people. The new park's operation appeared as safe as similar parks, and almost from the beginning, White City was very well received. The city experienced dramatic increases in ridership on the public transportation that took people to White City. In August 1905, ridership on the South Side 'L' Train rose by 11,000 fares over the amount of riders from a year earlier, an increase directly attributed to the opening of the park.

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