Hometown Square, based on early 20th century small towns of the Midwest,. Carousel Plaza, the front of the park, centered around the double-decker Columbia Carousel,. The park was broken up into six original themed areas, which are organized in a "Duell loop" that runs clockwise around the perimeter: With an overarching Americana theme in mind, Marriott's designers traveled across the country, observing styles and collecting artifacts to help inform an authentic atmosphere. Duell was a veteran theme park designer and for the Great America parks he sought to create his greatest design yet. Randall Duell was the leader of the design team for the park, who created two nearly identical plans for the Gurnee park and the sister park in Santa Clara, California. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Flag Day, June 14, 1974. Marriott received approval from local authorities, but the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority would not approve a proposal for an interchange on the tollway leading directly into the parking lot. The Gurnee park was officially announced on January 29, 1973, along with a hotel and an industrial park. Marriott purchased 600 acres of rural land in Gurnee straddling the Tri-State Tollway in August 1972, causing speculation in the Chicago Tribune that an amusement park was planned for the site. The location in the north of the Chicago metropolitan area was chosen to bring in visitors from Milwaukee and Chicago. Meanwhile, the plans for the other two parks proceeded more smoothly. The planned opening of the flagship park was delayed repeatedly until Marriott abandoned the idea late in the decade. The proposal was canceled after fierce opposition from local residents convinced officials to deny the park permits, and the plans were moved to Manassas, Virginia, in 1973, where it faced even stronger opposition from local residents and the National Park Service. The largest of these, at 850 acres, was announced for Laurel, Maryland, in 1972. From the beginning, three parks were planned, as Marriott identified three underserved metropolitan areas that could support a major amusement park: Baltimore–Washington, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Chicago- Milwaukee. The largest of the projects it took on was a chain of state-of-the-art theme parks, each of which would be named "Marriott's Great America" and themed around American history, opening in time for the nation's bicentennial. In the early 1970s, the Marriott Corporation, owner of several restaurant chains and Marriott hotels, sought to branch further out into the tourism and vacation industry. History 1970s–1984: Development and operation under Marriott 1.6 2020–present: Transformation into family park. 
1.1 1970s–1984: Development and operation under Marriott. Over 3 million guests visited Six Flags Great America since 2017, ranking it among the top 20 amusement parks in North America for attendance. Additionally, the park features twelve themed areas as well as an adjacent 20-acre (81,000 m 2) water park called Hurricane Harbor Chicago. 
Six Flags has owned and operated the park since 1984.įeaturing 15 roller coasters, the park ranks fourth-most roller coasters in the world, tied with Cedar Point. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on as one of two American-themed theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation.
Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha) amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area.
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