The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition proved that Chicagoans had a healthy appetite for amusement – and that fun could be monetized. In the summer of 1894, just months after the World’s Fair closed, a new amusement park opened at 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, just west of the former fairgrounds in present-day Jackson Park. It was called Paul Boyton’s Water Chutes.
“That is considered the first modern amusement park and essentially the first amusement park to focus on rides as the primary draw…and charge admission to ride those rides,” Jim Futrell, director and historian for the National Amusement Park Historical Association, told Chicago Stories.
The park had a few rides, such as merry-go-rounds, a miniature railroad, early versions of roller coasters, as well as its signature ride: Shoot the Chutes. The ride was not unlike log flume rides still popular at theme parks today, in which a flat-bottomed boat plunges down a water chute.

The park’s founder, Paul Boyton, certainly had the resume and adventurous spirit to open such a park: He was a daredevil who was known for his water stunts. His nickname? The Fearless Frogman. A Union veteran from the Civil War, Boyton went on to perform his stunts in a vulcanized rubber suit with a kayak-like paddle that allowed him to float on his back. He traveled up and down rivers in Europe and America, including the Rhine and the Mississippi, sometimes going hundreds of miles. He also crossed the English Channel in his suit and apparently loved to demonstrate its effectiveness.
“In 1874, he snuck aboard an ocean liner with the intent of diving overboard when the ship was 200 miles away from the shore and swimming safely back to shore,” Futrell said. “Apparently, the captain of the ship got wind of it and interned him for the duration of the voyage.” Boyton convinced the captain to allow him to dive off the ship when they were 30 miles off the coast of Ireland, and he successfully made it to shore in the stormy seas.
A water-centric amusement attraction, then, made sense for Boyton. According to Futrell, in the late 1880s, Boyton heard of a new attraction that came from the Black Hawk Watch Tower Amusement Park in Rock Island. The attraction featured a flat-bottom boat plunging down a several-story ramp and skidding into the Rock River. According to the Rock Island Preservation Society, the boat sometimes reached 80 mph on its descent.
Boyton licensed the attraction in the hopes of recapturing the magic of the World’s Fair, and in 1894, opened Paul Boyton’s Water Chutes. He charged 25 cents per ride for his customers to ride down a 50-foot chute.
“At the time, amusement parks were largely known as picnic grounds, featuring lakes, beaches, natural attractions, with a handful of rides on the side that were usually erected by independent concessionaires,” Futrell said. “This was the first time that someone fenced in a lot, put in a ride, and then charged people to come.”
Parks all over the country and the world, including Riverview Park, would eventually have their own iteration of the Shoot the Chutes ride. Paul Boyton’s Water Chutes later moved to the West Side at Jackson Boulevard and Kedzie Avenue and closed for good in 1907 amid growing competition. But Boyton also opened other parks around the country, including Sea Lion Park on Coney Island.