It was billed as "The world's first indoor amusement park", and it was intended to draw visitors all year round, rain or shine.

It opened to great fanfare and over 15,000 visitors on June 17, 1975, with an enormous building that housed major rides, such as three roller coasters and a Ferris wheel, as well as a turn-of-the-century-themed shopping mall with design reminiscent of the architecture of Louis Sullivan, such as his work for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

The opening of a competing amusement park in Chicago's north suburbs (known today as Six Flags Great America) hurt attendance, and the lack of large anchor stores failed to draw enough local and repeat shoppers.

By 1978, the mall began closing on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in early 1980 the entire amusement park shut down and the rides were sold, only five years after opening.

The Old Chicago TV commercial featured an 18-year-old Michelle Mauthe tap-dancing on top of the dome during high winds, while a cameraman filmed from inside a helicopter.

Construction crews worked around the clock to complete the project, and after a last-minute inspection, the mall opened on time to another crowd of over 15,000.

Brindle was removed as general manager, and Illinois Central Railroad (an investor in the project) installed Clyde Farman.

Illinois Central took full control of the mall's logistics in early 1977, rescheduling the hours of operation and spending over $8 million adding new attractions.

Illinois Central expressed their desire to demolish the structure, but the village, in the hopes of finding a buyer, changed its zoning laws to prevent the destruction.

Last-ditch efforts to salvage the enormous building—as an international trade center for the People's Republic of China, as a venue for the cancelled 1992 World's Fair, even as a Major League Baseball stadium for the Chicago White Sox—all failed, and the building was demolished in the spring of 1986.