Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Cincinnati's Chester Park

It was located on the northwest corner of Spring Grove Avenue and Mitchell. Today, the Cincinnati Waterworks partially occupies the site.

It originally operated as a horse racing club and in 1876 the first Ohio Derby was held there. On August 29, 1885, 15,000 attended the John L. Sullivan-Dan McCaffrey boxing match at the site.

In 1895, the Cincinnati Street Railway Company bought the site and turned it into an amusement park. A large lake was made with one side for boating and the other for swimming. Circling it was a boardwalk and a miniature train.

One of the highlights was a 5-story fun house called Hilarity Hill.

All this and more drew up to 30,000 patrons a day.

From 1929 to 1932 it was called Rainbow Park. A combination of the Depression and loss of beer sales during Prohibition caused most of it tp close down, but the pool remained open until 1954.

Fun and Good Times out at the Old Chester Park. --DaCoot

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