OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>This is how Chris Van der Ahe was trying to attract people to the ballpark in 1896. I found this in the June, 19, 1896 St Louis Daily Globe Democrat...I have entirely too much stuff laying around. A quick Google search shows that the Baseballlibrary.com has the date of Chutes opening wrong as this was advertised in a newspaper a full year before they claim it opened.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4999/shootthechutessmallow6.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>Joann</b><p>OK. I give up.<br /><br />1) What were the chutes?<br /><br />2) What was so great it made this a competitive activity (ad for another chute place in same column)?<br /><br />3) What's the problem with intoxicants and gambling?<br /><br /><img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />Joann

OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>The chutes were waterslides...it is not entirely clear to me how they were set up and if you went down in a "boat" or if you went down by yourself like todays waterslides. I found a better advertisement for the Chutes from the grand opening from a paper a few days earlier.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2855/shootthechutes2smallzl4.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>

OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>dennis</b><p><img src="http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l239/dcc1/riverviewpark.jpg">

OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>Cool postcard Dennis and that gives us a good idea of what it must have looked like. I wonder if they went from the top of the grandstands into the river? I would love to see a photo or drawing of what the setup was in St Louis.

OT: Shoot the Chutes in Sportsman's Park
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>This is not mine by the way, but I thought it would be cool to show a picture of it in this thread.<br /><br /> <img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/nudan92/2e88_1.jpg"> <br />