Description
Riverside Amusement Park opened in May 1903, [1] on 30th Street, between the White River and the Central Canal in Indianapolis. [2] The park originally opened with only two attractions, but soon expanded with a new manager to “build a bigger, better, more thrilling park in Indianapolis” re-opening in 1906. Entrance was free, with rides and attractions costing a nickel or dime. In 1910, Riverside added a “bathing beach” as one of its attractions, which became the focus of the park. [3] Riverside Amusement Park remained open until 1971.
Until the mid-1960’s, Riverside Amusement Park was segregated, officially admitting African Americans to the park only one day a year. [4] This day was racistly named “Colored Frolic Day” and normally held at the end of the season. [5] These days were also known as Milk Day Picnics, “colored Milk Day” [6] or “milk cap day”, as they were sponsored by the Milk Council and The Milk Foundation of Indianapolis. Admission included a milk cap per guest. [7] Thursday August 31, 1939, was the 4th Annual Milk Day for “Colored People Only” as advertised in the Indianapolis Recorder. [8]
On the rare occasions that African Americans were admitted on a non-designated “Colored” day, they experienced discrimination throughout the park. Writing a column in The Indianapolis Recorder on the occasion of Riverside’s closing in 1971, Andrew Ramsey recounts his experience going to the park as boy with his friend in the early 1920’s. As African Americans, the two boys were not allowed to ride the amusements with white children, and would be the only passengers on the roller coaster or Ferris wheel during their visit while white children watched them rid. As Ramsey recalled, signs throughout the park and large signage outside the park reading “White patronage only solicited” were a mainstay of the park for decades. [9]
Throughout the years, groups including the NAACP, The Indianapolis Recorder, and other organizations protested the discrimination African Americans experienced at Riverside Amusement Park. In 1954, The Indianapolis Recorder reported that three members of Kappa Alpha Psi, an African American national fraternity, visited the park without any problems. The Recorder cautioned the premature celebration of the end of discrimination as the “White patronage only solicited” signs were still displayed prominently throughout the park. They were proclaimed to be “an affront to every decent resident of Indianapolis, white or Negro, and a stench in the nostrils of the city” and “they must come down”. [10]
In 1962, a meeting was held at the Riverside Park Methodist Church, sponsored by the NAACP. Those in attendance were informed by the director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, Harold O. Hatcher, that the “white patronage only” signs in the amusement park had been removed. [11] According to The Indianapolis Recorder, “This development appears to have followed others in keeping with the campaign against discrimination in the use of the amusement facilities in the park." [12]
The last vestiges of formal discrimination at Riverside Amusement Park were soon undone. In 1963, the NAACP Youth Council picketed the park, using posters to highlight discriminatory practices and human rights violations. In 1964, the park changed its admission policy, and African Americans and other minorities were finally admitted to the park without restriction. The victory was short-lived as the amusement park closed in 1971. [13]
Source
[1] Zeigler, Connie J. “Worlds of Wonder: Amusements Parks in Indianapolis.” Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. Summer, 2008, Volume 20, Number 3. Indiana Historical Society. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p16797coll39/id/6509/rec/19
[2] “Riverside Amusement Park: From heyday to demo day.” The Indianapolis Star. June 25, 2017. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://www.indystar.com/videos/news/history/retroindy/2017/06/25/riverside-amusement-park-heyday-demo-day/102920630/
[3] Zeigler, Connie J.
[4] Mullins, Paul. “Romanticizing Racist Landscapes: Segregation and White Memory in Riverside Amusement Park,” June 22, 2020. Accessed October 1, 2020. https://paulmullins.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/romanticizing-racist-landscapes-segregation-and-white-memory-in-riverside-amusement-park/ .
[5] Mullins, Paul R. “Archaeology and Urban Renewal of Indianapolis’s West Side.” Black History News & Notes. February 200, Volume 28, Number 1. Indiana Historical Society. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p16797coll66/id/34/rec/10
[6] Mullins, Paul. “Romanticizing Racist Landscapes: Segregation and White Memory in Riverside Amusement Park,”
[7] Mullins, Paul R. “Archaeology and Urban Renewal of Indianapolis’s West Side.”
[8] Advertisement in The Indianapolis Recorder. August 23, 1939. Accessed October 13, 2020. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19390826-01.1.5&srpos=2&e=------193-en-20-INR-1--txt-txIN-%22milk+day%22----1939--
[9] “Tears for Riverside bastion of local racism”. The Indianapolis Recorder. August 7, 1971. Accessed October 13, 2020. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19710807-01.1.9&srpos=3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-%22Riverside+Amusement%22------
[10] “Riverside Hate Signs Must Come Down.” The Indianapolis Recorder. Marion County, Indiana. August 21, 1954. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INR19540821-01.1.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------
[11] “Public Facilities, To Be, Or Not --?” The Indianapolis Recorder. Marion County, Indiana.August 18, 1962. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19620818-01.1.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------
[12] “Public Facilities, To Be, Or Not --?” August 18, 1962. Accessed September 28, 2020. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=INR19620818-01.1.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------
[13] Benedict Brown, Tiffany. “Backtrack: Riverside Amusement Park.” Indianapolis Monthly. July
26, 2016. Accessed October 1, 2020. https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/arts-and-culture/riverside-amusement-park
Contributor
Student Author: Molly Hollcraft
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
Rights
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Picketing Riverside Amusement Park, Indianapolis Recorder Collection, Indiana Historical Society.
https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p0303/id/445/rec/1
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