Illinois

The story behind the day out

A hotel company builds a theme park

Marriott’s Great America opened in 1976. The park’s official timeline follows construction through the preceding year and its debut as a new permanent destination. Its origins connect the theme-park business with a hospitality company looking beyond hotels. The familiar Great America name has continued through later ownership changes, but the 1976 opening belongs to the original Marriott development rather than the subsequent Six Flags era.