At one time, I think the plan was to keep the park as "three rings". The inner ring (around the carousel) would be the area focused on young children (This idea has been violated with the addition of the Grand Exposition.) The next ring out was to be a kind of safe area for slower moving patrons (read, senior citizens). This area would be your crafts demonstrations and shopping section of the park. Then the outer ring would be for the more active patrons (read, teenagers). This plan, as I understood it, was pretty well executed and pretty effective. It drew the louder kids out of areas frequented by the old folks, and it accounts for how old and young come out of the park with smiles on their faces and memories in their hearts. Most parks would have the kids running over the elderly, thus alienating a whole section of the population. This plan is still intact with the placement of most of the thrill rides on the edge of the city.