Remembering that one water slide in Wauconda bangs lake

[Papillons2]

I posted this link awhile back about the reopening of Phil's Beach. The beach was purchased by the park district in Wauconda and is expected to reopen in 2018, although probably without the water slide.

Wauconda Park District to reopen iconic Phil's Beach, seen in 'Blues Brothers'

My father was a teacher at Wauconda High School when I was very young and had a summer job at Phil's Beach for a few years. After he moved on, he remained friendly with the Reilly family who ran the beach, and we went there quite often during my childhood. I distinctly remember the water slide and also getting hooked on the pinball machine inside the refreshment stand.

[PhilsBeachGuy]

I remember the big water slide at Phil's beach. The above video is NOT it. The water slide was about 4-6 stories tall and was stationed on a floating multi story wood island out on the lake that you would have to swim out to. On your way out to that floating island at about the half way point was that disk that was a bit on angle that you could sit on and the entire disk would rotate as other people got on it and you would spin off it into the water. This was at about where the ropes were on the lake dividing the shallow swim area with the deep swim area. From there you could see the island behind you, it was just a few minutes of swimming and you were at the island. It was a big wood frame several story wood structure with ladders and different jump off points. You could jump off the platform one story up, or you could climb three more stories up and jump off the ledge at 3-4 stories up. When you jumped that high it felt like you were in the air foreever before you hit the water. If I remember correctly kids were jumping off around each other and landing around each other in the water. Thinking about it you can see why they could no longer insure this after 1990. Im sure there has been at least one time some kid had another kid land on him from three stories above. Then at the top of the platform there was a water slide powered by water jets with three staff members working it. One staff member getting everybody in line, and two staff members at the top of the slide showing each kid how to mount up, hold on to the bar above his head with his feet hanging below him, then let go of the bar. The bar by the way was also the thing that had the water jets constantly pouring down the entire length of the slide to give you extra speed. They would help you get on the slide and tell you where to hold on, etc, then tell you to let go and you would go like greased lightning 3-4 stories down this metal slide and hit that flip up at the end which rocketed you back up in the air at speed then you came back down and hit the water. Now those were the days.
Now you cant even find a diving board at a public/private swimming pool. Also, did you hear the news? Phils beach as of July 2017 has been bought by Wauconda and is going to be reopened as it has been closed since 1990. However they do say that they are going to dismantle that water slide which is apparently still sitting there rusting.
Phils beach is all about that 4 story structure that you can jump off and the waterslide. Shame insurance wont let them open that. Glad I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. I seem to recall in the beachhouse in 1983 there were some cool video games...Astroids, pac man galaga, etc. Ah, progress.

[Kepilina]

Was it called Glory Mountain or something like that?

[Conniemalick]

Thank you for posting this video! Sure takes me back, late 60’s my family would spend the day here. I remember the water slides being at Holiday Lake.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by PhilsBeachGuy

I remember the big water slide at Phil's beach. The above video is NOT it. The water slide was about 4-6 stories tall and was stationed on a floating multi story wood island out on the lake that you would have to swim out to. On your way out to that floating island at about the half way point was that disk that was a bit on angle that you could sit on and the entire disk would rotate as other people got on it and you would spin off it into the water. This was at about where the ropes were on the lake dividing the shallow swim area with the deep swim area. From there you could see the island behind you, it was just a few minutes of swimming and you were at the island. It was a big wood frame several story wood structure with ladders and different jump off points. You could jump off the platform one story up, or you could climb three more stories up and jump off the ledge at 3-4 stories up. When you jumped that high it felt like you were in the air foreever before you hit the water. If I remember correctly kids were jumping off around each other and landing around each other in the water. Thinking about it you can see why they could no longer insure this after 1990. Im sure there has been at least one time some kid had another kid land on him from three stories above. Then at the top of the platform there was a water slide powered by water jets with three staff members working it. One staff member getting everybody in line, and two staff members at the top of the slide showing each kid how to mount up, hold on to the bar above his head with his feet hanging below him, then let go of the bar. The bar by the way was also the thing that had the water jets constantly pouring down the entire length of the slide to give you extra speed. They would help you get on the slide and tell you where to hold on, etc, then tell you to let go and you would go like greased lightning 3-4 stories down this metal slide and hit that flip up at the end which rocketed you back up in the air at speed then you came back down and hit the water. Now those were the days.
Now you cant even find a diving board at a public/private swimming pool. Also, did you hear the news? Phils beach as of July 2017 has been bought by Wauconda and is going to be reopened as it has been closed since 1990. However they do say that they are going to dismantle that water slide which is apparently still sitting there rusting.
Phils beach is all about that 4 story structure that you can jump off and the waterslide. Shame insurance wont let them open that. Glad I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. I seem to recall in the beachhouse in 1983 there were some cool video games...Astroids, pac man galaga, etc. Ah, progress.

Great summary and memories. I remember the "other" beach near Phil's being named "Sunnyside". Went down the slide and jumped off the three-story platform (about 30' above the water, about the same height as the top of the slide), many times, it was a blast!. I had a buddy who dove head-first off the top platform, but I didn't have the guts to do that. The last time I was there (1983?), and after a day of diving, and with the water being very warm and crowded with people, I got one heckuva sinus infection. Antibiotics alone wouldn't clear it up, the Doc had to take two, thin, long sticks, wrap cotton around the ends of each, dip them in yellow sulfur, and work them up my nostrils until they landed somewhere behind my eyeballs. When he took them out, my sinuses drained "garbage water", which smelled friggin' terrible, for days. Had to repeat that after a week, but it finally cleared up - thanks, Doc!

[prrthdldy]

There was also a beach named Honey Hill, they also had a water slide. Condos now occupy that spot.

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

[quote=PhilsBeachGuy;48671303]Now you cant even find a diving board at a public/private swimming pool. Also, did you hear the news? Phils beach as of July 2017 has been bought by Wauconda and is going to be reopened as it has been closed since 1990. However they do say that they are going to dismantle that water slide which is apparently still sitting there rusting.

I just checked out Google Maps, and didn't see any structure out in the lakes, so it's probably already been dismantled. It's hard to believe you could keep swimmers off that thing, even if they took the slide down. I kind of remember it being a floating structure, that they could haul back to shore for winter.

It's amazing how much that lake has changed, there are SO many more boat docks, and private homes around that lake, and much less beach, than there was in the 80's. Like everything in Illinois, due to there being maybe ten million people in the tri-state area, it looks almost "overcrowded". When we went there, it seemed like a very rural area to me. Now, it appears to be all built up. In many ways, I'm glad I grew up in the era I did, before so much was "ruined" by the Safety Nazi's and urbanization.