Steven W. Wilson - Six Flags Great America

Images of Modern America

SIX FLAGS
GREAT
AMERICA

The original Marriotts Great America logo was used from prior to the 1976 opening year up through the spring of 1984, when it was modified for Six Flags (as seen on ). The 1981 logo for the American Eagle is possibly the most beautiful roller coaster logo ever. The round Great America symbol dates back to before the parks 1976 opening. The Time Warner version of the Six Flags logo was introduced in 1993. Introduced at the park in 2005, the Hurricane Harbor logo has evolved to the form appearing here. The current Six Flags Great America logo, at bottom, has appeared in various forms since 1999. (Courtesy of Six Flags Great America.)

FRONT COVER: Shortly before opening day, May 29, 1976, Marriotts Great America employees gathered for a family portrait at the Columbia Carousel and its reflecting pool. (Courtesy of GREATAMERICAparks.com.)

UPPER BACK COVER: At Marriotts Great America, guests could travel high above the park on theSouthern Cross skyride, spin above the park on the Sky Whirl triple Ferris wheel, and experience the thrills of the Turn of the Century roller coaster, all seen in this photograph. The vacant land beyond the roller coaster is now the Southwest Territory. (Courtesy of GREATAMERICAparks.com.)

LOWER BACK COVER (LEFT): Two boys with Bugs Bunny ears are eager to enjoy a ride on the Big Top, which is now located in Southwest Territory and is known as Ricochet. (Courtesy of GREATAMERICAparks.com.) (center) A thrilling ride on the Tidal Wave roller coaster made a lasting impression on many a guest. (Photograph by author.) (right) Entertainment was everywhere at Marriotts Great America. The Looney Tunes characters mingled with the guests, performed in Theatre Royale, and appeared in the Merry Mardi Gras Parade. The Great America Singers, on the balcony above, performed Broadway-style musicals in the Grand Music Hall. Street musicians, marching bands, and other performers added to the incredible entertainment lineup. (Courtesy of GREATAMERICAparks.com.)

Images of Modern America

SIX FLAGS
GREAT
AMERICA

STEVEN W. WILSON

Copyright 2017 by Steven W. Wilson
ISBN 978-1-4671-1702-9
Ebook ISBN 9781439659939

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016959654

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I dedicate this book to my mother, J. Violet Wilson, and in memory of both my father, Chester E. Wilson, and my sister, Shelle. My mother and sister are seen here during a visit to Marriotts Great America in Gurnee. (Photograph by author.)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I extend special thanks to Katy Enrique and Tess Claussen of Six Flags Great America, as well as Hank Salemi, park president, for making this book possible.

Special, heartfelt recognition and eternal gratitude go to Angie Lovell McAvoy, Kristopher D. Jones, and Kyle Smith for going far above and beyond to assist with the making of this book. Their exceptional contributions significantly enhanced the quality of this book. And their love for this park and its history is immeasurable. Special recognition and gratitude also go to David L. Brown, former vice president, Theme Parks Group, Marriott Corporation.

Those who contributed photographs to the book are also greatly appreciated. Many important photographs appearing in the book were graciously provided by Dan Berg, David Carter, Sheila Dissmore, Todd Doerge, Scott D. Farrell, Phill Greenwood, Johnny Heger, Michael S. Horwood, Ryan MacKenzie, Duane Marden at rcdb.com, Jon Revelle, Morgan Richardson, and Mark Rosenzweig.

In addition, I would like to thank the following current and former employees of Marriotts Great America, Gurnee or Six Flags Great America or both for their valued assistance: Dave Arnold, James Bouy, Ann Boynton, Kellie Brown, Margie Gillis-Moss, Hamp Howell, Ron Johnson, Eddie Katich, Jerome Knull, Jerry Moore, Mike Newton, Bruce Pfeffer, Rob Proce, Sandy Quinn, Jan Schefstad, Lisa Ignoffo Scheuring, Eugene Schmidt, Peter Schneckloth, John Tarr, Dave Wolowic, and Jim Zradicka, as well as the entire Six Flags Great America team.

Special thanks go to Roger Ross of Californias Great America and Raul Rehnborg, vice president and general manager of Californias Great America, for access to rare Gurnee materials in their archives. I greatly appreciate the kind assistance I received from Jeff Brown, Joseph DiMarco, Darren Foland, Dennis Foland, Judi Hadfield, Michael Lynch, Dave Murphy, and John Poimiroo, all from Marriotts Great America, Santa Clara, California.

From Marriott International, Inc., I wish to thank Katie Dishman, corporate archivist of the Marriott Corporate Archives, for her wonderful assistance.

From the Village of Gurnee, I thank Jack Linehan for his valuable assistance. From the Warren Township Historical Society, I extend my gratitude to Joe Lodesky and Michael Weiland for their help.

I extend my special thanks to Anne Thomason, archivist and special collections librarian at Lake Forest College, for her kind research assistance. At the University of Tulsa, I thank Andra J. Lupardus, McFarlin Library reference librarian, and Liz Buckley Sanchez for all their help with research. Thanks, too, go to Dona Davidson, reference librarian at Oklahoma State UniversityTulsa.

Others I thank for their help include Paul Asente, Don Azars, Tom Benton, Robert Bleck, Tom Bleck, Jim Figley, Darren Hudson, Chris Kearsing, David Lipnicky, Joe Lopez, Stacy Figley Moore, Jason Rotunda, Jeff Ruetsche, Raymond Scott, Rene Scott, Tom Schott, and J. Violet Wilson.

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs appear courtesy of Six Flags Great America.

Six Flags and all related indicia are trademarks of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, and 2017.

BATMAN, SUPERMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE, and all related characters and elements & DC Comics. LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements & Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. YOGI BEAR, SCOOBY-DOO, THE JETSONS, THE FLINTSONES, and all related characters & Hanna-Barbera. (s17)

INTRODUCTION

Six Flags Great America opened as Marriotts Great America on May 29, 1976. By the early 1970s, tremendous growth in the theme park business led to Marriott Corporations decision to develop its own theme parks. The first Marriotts Great America entertainment center, proposed to be built midway between Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC, was announced on January 26, 1972. Plans called for a theme park, a marine life park, a wild animal safari park, hotels, a campground, shopping, restaurants, and other entertainment. Later, Marriotts Great America parks were announced for Santa Clara, California, then Gurnee, Illinois. Local opposition to the Washington, DC, area park halted its development both at the Maryland site and later at a backup site near Manassas, Virginia.

David L. Brown, vice president of Marriotts Theme Park Group, was tasked with creating the Marriott parks. He assembled a team of top talent that was recruited from industry leaders such as Disney, Six Flags, and Cedar Point. Many were eager to join Marriott for the extraordinary opportunity to create world-class theme parks from the ground up.