I took this photo during My lunchbreak, on a very cold and rainy Thursday, October 8th 2009. I was passing by the site of the recently closed Kiddieland Amusement Park in near northwest suburban Melrose Park Illinois. I just happened to have My digital camera with Me, and decided to pass by the place on a hunch.
The south service gate in the parking lot was opened, and there was a little bit of maintenance worker activity going on. I spoke with one of the people from the park's maintenance staff, and told him that " I had been coming to Kiddieland for many years". I introduced Myself and asked if I could speak to a manager on duty. I just asked if it would be alright if I could just take a few pictures before it was all gone. He had Me follow him on the property, but there was not a manager / owner to be found at the time. With his permission and an agreement to keep this down to a short visit...I took what will proboubly be My last photos inside of Kiddieland.
It was a sad occasion, much like attending the Wake of a loved one. With appropriately wet weather and very gray skies, I captured these last images of Chicago's Kiddieland Amusement Park. After 81 years in operation, Kiddieland closed on Sunday, September 27th 2009. The following week, the park was open for a special "Last Time", for people who paid big money at Auction to go on the rides for the very last time.
Goodbye Kiddieland.
Eddie K.
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