- Through the early 1900s, Chicago boasted more amusement parks than any other American city, but one park in particular overshadows them all.

And even today, a certain generation of Chicagoan can't help but smile at the mere mention of its name, Riverview Park.

- Riverview was unique.

There was no other place like Riverview.

- Riverview was a rite of passage for anybody growing up in Chicago.

And basically in the 20th century, everybody wanted to go to Riverview.

- The Riverview story begins in 1879 at Belmont and Western Avenues, then a largely German neighborhood on the city's north side.

A group of Prussian war veterans purchased a plot of land to open a private club called Sharp Shooters Park.

- So the men would go out there on Sunday and do their target practice, but then the families and the wives got kind of jealous that they didn't have anywhere to go.

- So the club added a small carousel and donkey rides to entertain members' families.

The Shooters Club gradually dissolved, but soon after a couple members purchased the land, including a prosperous baker named William Schmidt.

- Now meantime, William Schmidt's son, George is over in Europe, attending high school.

- George had been wowed by the famous European parks like Copenhagen's, Tivoli Gardens and the Prater in Austria.

- And he is all excited about this, and he comes home and he is telling his father, we need to do this.

It's a real hit in Europe.

It could be a hit here.

- Schmidt took his son's advice and began to transform Sharp Shooters Park.

In 1904, they renamed it Riverview Park and added new attractions like a figure eight rollercoaster called the White Flyer, a Shoot, the Shoots Ride, and others.

- In some ways, it was like a big carnival.

- It showed imagination is what it did.

- The crowds loved it.

And over the next decade, the park continued to expand to 140 acres drawing Chicagoans across the city.

And from many backgrounds, it builds itself as the world's largest amusement park.

- You look at the pictures of Riverview, it's just this action packed midway.

It was one ride in concession after the next - Riverview added rides like the silky smooth Velvet Coaster, a gigantic carousel with 70 hand carved horses and the Thousand Islands where young lovers could steal a first kiss.

- It wasn't hard to find a date to go to Riverview Park.

They were all in.

- After seven years, the park was drawing 7 million visitors every season.

It the latest and greatest in rollercoaster technology by leading engineers like John Miller.

- He's the guy that invented the chain dog.

That's the anti-roll back device.

So it gives the rollercoasters that distinct click, click, click.

But he also, in 1919, patented a way to lock trains to the track.

That was a huge development in the safety of roller coasters.

Riverview went on to build the blue streak in the Flash coming out as an innovator in the industry.

So they were really heavily investing in these big, spectacular rides from almost the beginning.

- In the early 1920s, Riverview added a new type of coaster train, a flexible one that could safely negotiate tight turns.

It was called the Bobs, a gigantic wooden coaster with a nearly 80 foot drop and speeds topping 50 miles per hour.

When the Bobs opened at Riverview in 1924, it was billed as the fastest ride in the world.

- Like all coaster rides.

It starts off nice and slow.

And then you know what?

- The Bobs quickly became the most iconic attraction at Riverview, and it remained popular for decades to come.

- That thing was just brutal so fast.

- These wooden roller coasters, they made noise metal wheels on steel track making a curve that would screech.

- They're getting smashed back and forth from one side to another.

It was just wonderful.