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The story of Old Chicago began in Southern California with a real estate developer named Robert Brindle.  Brindle and his company were known for building shopping centers.



What made Old Towne different than the shopping centers and malls sprouting across the country was the idea of mixing entertainment with retail.  Taking at first theming from the theme park industry Old Towne was themed as a turn of the century town center with each shop made up to look like a different building along a town street.



In addition to the theming Old Towne mixed entertainment into the concept with puppet shows, Dixieland bands, vaudeville acts, and even a singing security guard to wander around and entertain visitors.  This concept was dubbed "recreational retailing".



As Old Towne progressed a small ride section was added to the shopping center that included and antique carousel and a dark ride.  The goal of the theming, entertainment and rides was to use those things to make shopping more of a fun experience and to use that to bring more people to the shopping center.



With Old Towne growing into a success Robert Brindle and the rest of his company began thinking about taking the concept to the next level.  The thought for what to do came while visiting Knott's Berry Farm.  While sweating it out in line the thought occured to Brindle "why not completely enclose an amusement park".  With an amusement park built inside you wouldn't need to worry about the weather affecting operations and if built in a market with harsh winters it would be something for people to enjoy year round.

With the decision to fully merge a theme park and a shopping center made the next question was where to build it?




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Paul B. Drabek