During a Chicago arealandboom that lasted a couple of years(1868-1870) the Knickerbocker Club (a Chicago-based German American outfit)bought two properties and built two "shooting parks" one northside one along the North Branch(that eventually became Riverview) and a southside one along the recently (1865) constructed "Pennsy" rail line and called it simply "Sharpshooters' Park" It was a favorite of local Germans from the Blue Island area for years.It shows up on only a few maps during the 1870's and 1880's. It had a Station on the RR line called Sharpshooter's Park Station, a stage with an oompah band and some sort of building/bar where yo9u rented firearms and shot stuff on the grounds, pigeons? Who knows? The 10 acre park was on the edge of Andrews Woods and had only recently been cleared of wolves..it extended from 119th to 115th (Stanwood) and from Halsted to Wallace aka Jefferson. Its loud and rowdy atmosphere (especially on Sundays) made it the bane of the churchgoing Holland farmers of Roseland who lived a little over a mile north of the Park.Anybody know anything about this or the Knickerbocker Club? A copy of a club pamphlet disappeared from the Chicago Historical Library in the 1960s.The Park was razed in 1890 to make way for residential development by the West Pullman Land Ass'n. My great grandpa Fritz Larson built the 2nd house on the grounds in 1905. Its still standing @ 11640 Wallace.

A brief mention of "The Sharpshooters Clubhouse" and a private hotel, shooting range and picnic area. See the History of Palos Park:

http://www.palospark.org/history.htm

The Sharpshooters Park that became Riverview was NOT built by the Knickerbocker Club. It was built by the Der Nord Chicago Schuetzenverein, which was a club of largely Prussian War veterans who founded the club to keep up their shooting skills. This club later turned into the North Chicago Sharpshooters Association. See Derek Gee's and Ralph Lopez's "Laugh Your Troubles Away - The Complete History of Riverview Park" book or DVD for further info.

www.riverviewparkchicago.com

[b]Far south on halsted about 110- 113- we used to fly radio controlled model airplains. Anybody know or remember??[/b]

I'm in my early 60's and I recall that area from my youth as always being pretty well developed. Is it possible you were a bit farther on Halstead? At 144th there is Kickapoo Woods, which did have a cleared, open field for model airplane flying. I had cousins that lived near there (Riverdale) and we would go over there when we heard the high-pitched whine of a model airplane engine. I know this is quite a bit further south than you remember. Just a thought....

CLUB ALLEGRO
DON"S HOT DOG"S

[b]Thanks for the info. I'm glad somone remembers it. I wasn't sure of how far south it was. [/b]

The 144th and Halsted address is correct for the radio controlled planes... Halsted was pretty built up from 95th south to the Calumet River (130th) beyond that was forest Presserves, a golf course and the industries around the Riverdale rail yard. Also Halsted drive Inn theater @ 137th. The Dan Ryan only went as far as 99th and Halsted for a couple years until they cleared the way to build I-57 (through emminent domain). The black subdivision Maple Park (3 blocks west of Halsted, 115th through 119th all the way to Ashland) was built in the early 1960's just west of the old Bohemian neighborhood of Placerdale. Maple Park was built on the grounds of an old Forest Preserve golf course. Before that there are stories of that area being used for experimental aircraft ca. 1910. Capone taverns lined 119th street west of Ashland on the south side of the street...119th was chicago's south boundry you see...

I grew up in the Placerdale neighborhood in the 40's & 50's & am unfamiliar with there ever being a Forest preserve golf course where Maple park was built. Possibly you are thinking of the golf course that was on the North side of 119th St. between Ashland & Vincennes. I do remember concrete foundations in the prairie East of Ashland that "Old timers" told us was the remnants of an aircraft factory
built in the 1930's & demolished in the 40's.

Re: your note on taverns; Placerdale was home to 9 within an 8 square block area.

Yes GARZ you're probably right. From my Roseland/Gano/ Fenger High perspective everything west of Halsted gets kinda lumped together. Aircraft factory? Very interesting. I also read that there was a suerkraut factory along Halsted in the area back around 1900. The "Halsted St corridor" is an area that is a "dead zone" when it comes to history...too far east to get the attention of Blue Island or Morgan Park scholars, too far west for many Roseland historians...this brings up a different topic, the evolution of our streets, from surveyors lines, to fences between landowners to paths among cultivated acres to wagon roads to "improved" roads when townships begin taking the locals to easements shared by neighboring farmers to gravel roads to raised centers with gutters along the borders to macadam to cobblestone to asphalt/cement...I heard that one section of Blue Island Avenue near 18th St had 4 distinct layers underfoot when paved in the 1920's!