The Kiddieland Amusement Park sign at the Melrose Park Public Library, 801 N. Broadway in Melrose Park. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)

Kiddieland Amusement Park was paradise for preschoolers and their parents, but it’s a paradise lost, gone 15 years now.

The park closed in 2009 after a dispute between the owners of the park and the owners of the land it sat on — two sides of the same family. Sad, considering the park promised and delivered “fun for the entire family.”

So, 80 years of history were auctioned off or demolished, and now there’s a Costco in its place. They paved paradise and put up a big box store.

But if you want to stir your memories, a colorful piece of the park remains.

Visit the Melrose Park Public Library at 801 N. Broadway in Melrose Park, and in the parking lot you’ll find the original candy-colored Kiddieland sign from the 1950s, including Jack and Jill on top. The only thing missing is the length of the maypole.

Kiddieland rides have mostly gone elsewhere. The Little Dipper rollercoaster is at Six Flags Great America, and the Roto-Whip can be found at Santa’s Village in Dundee. Other rides have wound up in amusement parks in Michigan, Georgia and New Jersey.

Gary Marine, director of public works for the village of Melrose Park, was instrumental in saving the Kiddieland sign.

“When the park closed in ‘09, I approached the mayor and asked, ‘What’s gonna happen with the sign?’” Marine recalled. “Because all the residents in town were like, ‘Is it gonna end up in the scrapper? Is it gonna be thrown away?’”

Left: WTTW News reporter Marc Vitali at Kiddieland Amusement Park in 1993. (Provided) Right: The Kiddieland sign in 2009. (Jeremy Thompson)

Marine got a green light to salvage the big sign, but he had to find a place for it.

“We talked about putting it up at Village Hall, but it wouldn’t look appropriate there,” Marine said. “So we said let’s just put it by the library — the historical society is over there. We started on the project in 2012, and we worked on it a little at a time, in between other chores of course.”

The paint was touched up, the old neon lights were removed, and LEDs were added — yes, the sign still lights up each evening.

And they have since added the sign from the shuttered Maywood Park horse racing track, which was across the street from Kiddieland. That sign is also in the library parking lot and lights up at night.

But Maywood Park likely won’t arouse the feelings of family nostalgia that Kiddieland does.

“I brought my kids there,” Marine said. “And even when I was younger, when I was in high school, I’d take my date there. We’d go to Kiddieland and go on the rides and spend the evening. It was a great location to enjoy yourself on the weekend.”