Riverside Amusement Park (Indianapolis)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Amusement park |
| Founded | January 1903 |
| Founder | Frederick Ingersoll, J. Clyde Power, Albert Lieber, Bert Fiebleman, Emmett Johnson |
| Defunct | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana , United States |
Area served | Indianapolis metropolitan area |
Riverside Amusement Park was in operation in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, from 1903 until 1970. The park originated as a collaboration between engineer and amusement park pioneer Frederick Ingersoll and local Indianapolis entrepreneurs J. Clyde Power, Albert Lieber, Bert Fiebleman, and Emmett Johnson. Constructed by Ingersoll's Pittsburgh Construction Company, the facility was situated next to Riverside City Park on West 30th Street, nestled between the White River and the Central Canal within the Riverside neighborhood.
Establishment and Initial Development
In January 1903, the Riverside Amusement Company was officially incorporated under Indiana state law. The board of directors featured William Jineson from Charleroi, Pennsylvania; Elmore E. Gregg and Frederick Ingersoll from Pittsburgh; alongside Indianapolis residents J. Clyde Power and Albert Leiber. The park opened its gates in May 1904 and quickly gained popularity. Signature attractions included one of Ingersoll’s renowned figure 8 roller coaster designs and an elaborate looking-glass maze. Under the leadership of the first manager, Frank P. Thomas Sr., admission was free while individual rides required a fee—for example, the "double-eight tobaggan railway" cost five cents per ride.
Although Ingersoll shifted his attention to other ventures such as Rocky Glen Park and Indianola Park, Power and the company’s leadership continued to develop Riverside by adding an Old Mill ride, which featured boats navigating through a dark tunnel leading into a flour mill replica. By 1906, with J.S. Sandy appointed as manager, the park employed 120 workers to enhance facilities, increased live entertainment offerings, and improved streetcar access for visitors. On the opening day of its fourth season, Riverside attracted approximately 30,000 guests—about 20% of Indianapolis’s population at that time.
That same year introduced heightened rivalry with two new amusement parks: Wonderland and White City. Both competitors were eventually destroyed by fires by 1911.
Riverside rapidly broadened its range of attractions to include an "aerial swing," a Japanese-style bowling alley, the "Gee Whiz" ride—a combination of teeter-totter and flying jinny—a powered electric carousel, a miniature railway, various arcade games, and a substantial (350-foot) shoot-the-chutes water ride. The lighting scheme echoed designs employed at Ingersoll’s other parks such as Luna Parks located in Coney Island, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Additionally, the park leveraged its skating rink, dancing pavilion, canoeing opportunities, and rowboat rentals—all contributing significant income amidst rising competition locally. The last major enhancement during Sandy’s tenure was the addition of a bathing beach complete with a six-story diving tower in 1910 as interest in mechanical rides began to decline.
Change in Ownership
In 1919, Lewis Coleman, an attorney compensated with company shares, established the Riverside Exhibition Company and assumed control of the amusement park. During his tenure as president, Coleman introduced two sizable roller coasters named The Flash and The Thriller, added Dodgem cars (early versions of bumper cars), replaced the original miniature railway with an extended one, transformed the dancing pavilion into a dedicated roller skating rink, and constructed new concrete structures to accommodate games and concessions. These enhancements successfully halted a ten-year decline in attendance that reflected broader national patterns in amusement park visitation.
Coleman also enforced a "whites only" policy, restricting African American visitors to specific days such as the yearly "Colored Frolic Day" (also known as "Milk Cap Day"), which required presenting milk bottle caps for entry. This segregationist policy persisted for nearly five decades.
In 1939, leadership transitioned to Lewis's son, John Coleman, who maintained park operations throughout World War II by promoting wartime relief efforts and highlighting patriotic themes in marketing materials.
Following the war, attendance increased significantly as residents of Indianapolis enjoyed greater mobility and leisure opportunities; approximately one million people visited the park's midway and skating rink in 1952. By the end of that decade, new attractions included an automobile turnpike ride inspired by Disneyland. Paradoxically, both theme parks like Disneyland and the rise in private car ownership contributed to Riverside's eventual decline less than twenty years later.
Park Closure
During the 1960s, Riverside Amusement Park faced its first attendance downturn since World War II. Although John Coleman discontinued the "whites only" restriction following protests by the 1963 NAACP Youth Council, the park continued to lose around $30,000 annually. Increasing expenses for insurance, upkeep, and ride operations, combined with competition from newly emerging theme parks, ultimately led to its closure after the 1970 season.
In 1976, Meyer Cohen purchased the property with intentions to reopen it on a smaller scale. Nonetheless, an outbreak of histoplasmosis associated with the site compelled Cohen to relinquish ownership. By 1978, all rides had been sold off or dismantled. The grounds remained vacant until redevelopment began in the early 2000s with the creation of the Rivers Edge residential subdivision.