Beaches in Chicago - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The beaches in Chicago are an extensive network of waterfront recreational areas operated by the Chicago Park District

Chicago Park District

The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...

. The Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

Metropolitan waterfront includes parts of the Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

shores as well as parts of the banks of the Chicago

Chicago River

The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...

, Des Plaines

Des Plaines River

The Des Plaines River is a river that flows southward for through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the U.S. Midwest, eventually meeting the Kankakee River west of Channahon to form the Illinois River, a tributary of the Mississippi River....

, Calumet

Calumet River

The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the neighborhood of South Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana.-Background:...

, Fox

Fox River (Illinois River tributary)

The Fox River is a tributary of the Illinois River in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois in the United States. There are two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.-Wisconsin:The Fox River rises near...

, and DuPage River

DuPage River

The DuPage River is a tributary of the Des Plaines River in the U.S. state of Illinois.-Course:The river begins as two individual streams. The West Branch of the DuPage River, long, starts in Schaumburg at Campanelli Park in Cook County and continues southward through the entire county of DuPage,...

s and their tributaries. The waterfront also includes the Illinois and Michigan Canal

Illinois and Michigan Canal

The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...

and the Sanitary and Ship Canal. Historically, the waterfront has been used for commerce, industry, and leisure. Leisure, such as fishing, swimming, hunting, walking and boating, was much more prevalent throughout the river sections of the waterfront system early in the 19th century before industrial uses altered the landscape. By midcentury, much leisure shifted to Lake Michigan as a result of industrial influence. The first City of Chicago Public Beach opened in Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park is an urban park in Chicago, which gave its name to the Lincoln Park, Chicago community area.Lincoln Park may also refer to:-Urban parks:*Lincoln Park , California*Lincoln Park, San Francisco, California...

in 1895. Today, the entire 28 miles (45 km) Chicago lakefront shoreline is man-made, and primarily used as parkland. There are thirty-three beaches in Chicago

Chicago

along the shores of freshwater Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

.

Typically, Chicago beaches take the name of the east-west street that runs perpendicular to the lake at each beach's location.

History

Early beaches were generally funded by private entities such as hotels and private clubs. Late 19th century city ordinances prohibited public bathing, but popular norms created demand for public beaches. Proponents saw public beaches as an opportunity to accommodate demand for public baths and eliminate the expenditure of enforcement resources on ordinance violations for public bathing. The city responded by opening the first public bathing beach in 1895 in Lincoln Park primarily as a response to the efforts of the Free Bath and Sanitary League (formerly the Municipal Order League). Spaces were designated for public use and the city accepted responsibility for maintaining the beaches. By 1900 the lakefront was divided into zones of recreational, residential, agricultural and industrial uses. Lake Michigan water quality concerns lead to the reversal of the Chicago river with deep cut of the Illinois & Michigan canal in 1871 and the construction of the Sanitary and Ship Canal at the turn of the century. The 1909 Burnham Plan

Burnham Plan

The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 Plan of Chicago, co-authored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railroad and harbor facilities, and civic buildings...

led to development of the lakefront. Recreational development on the city lakefront became a priority due to the influence of Aaron Montgomery Ward

Aaron Montgomery Ward

Aaron Montgomery Ward was an American businessman notable for the invention of mail order.The mail-order industry was started by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 in Chicago...

. His belief that the public's access to the Lake left its impression on the development of Jackson

Jackson Park (Chicago)

Jackson Park is a 500 acre park on Chicago's South Side, located at 6401 South Stony Island Avenue in the Woodlawn community area. It extends into the South Shore and Hyde Park community areas, bordering Lake Michigan and several South Side neighborhoods...

, Burnham

Burnham Park (Chicago)

Burnham Park is a public park in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The park, which lines along six miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, connects Grant Park at 14th st. to Jackson Park at 56th St. The of parkland is owned and managed by Chicago Park District. It was named for urban...

, Grant

Grant Park (Chicago)

Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...

and Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

s. Continued popular support, led to the opening of several municipal beaches in the second decade of the 20th century.

Rogers Park Beaches

The far north Rogers Park

Rogers Park, Chicago

Rogers Park is one of the 77 Chicago community areas on the far north side of Chicago, Illinois, and is also the name of the Chicago neighborhood that constitutes most of the community area...

neighborhood contains a series of small "street-end" beaches that unlike most Chicago

Chicago

beaches are often separated by private property and therefore, unconnected to each other by public parkland. This accounts for the seemingly large number of beaches in this one neighborhood.

Juneway Terrace Beach

Juneway Terrace Beach is the northernmost beach in Chicago. It is located at 7800 north and Lake Michigan. It lies within Rogers Avenue Beach and Park. It is separated from Rogers Beach by a stretch of rip rap protecting three apartment buildings.

Rogers Beach

Rogers Beach lies in Rogers Avenue Beach and Park at 7705 north. Barely one block long, the park also has tennis courts.

Howard Beach

Howard Beach lies in Howard Street Beach and Park at 7600 north, which is just south of Howard Street. It is perhaps 213 feet (65 m) long.

Jarvis Beach/Fargo Beach

Jarvis beach located at 7400 north and Fargo beach is located at 7432 north. Offshore stretches of riprap

Riprap

Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...

act to reduce erosion of this beach, which is about three blocks long.

Loyola/Leone Beach

Located at 7032 North Sheridan and extending for eight blocks, Leone Beach is Chicago's largest.

Hartigan Beach

Contiguous with Pratt Beach, located at 6800 north, ends just north of Loyola Avenue. Named for former 49th Ward Alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

David L. Hartigan.

North Shore Beach

North Shore Beach is located at 6700 north.

Berger Park

41.995545°N 87.654639°W

Berger Park Beach is a small beach at the northeast corner of Berger Park in Edgewater

Edgewater, Chicago

Edgewater is a lakefront community area in the North Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois seven miles north of the Loop. As one of Chicago’s 77 official community areas, Edgewater is bounded by Foster Avenue on the south, Devon Avenue on the north, Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and Lake Michigan...

. The park also contains a cultural center and lakeside café housed in two large century old lake homes and their carriage houses, as well as a playground.

Lincoln Park Beaches

Lincoln Park

is Chicago's largest public park and contains the city's remaining north side lake front beaches, running for seven miles (11 km) through the communities of Edgewater

Edgewater, Chicago

, Uptown

Uptown, Chicago

Uptown is one of Chicago’s 77 community areas. Uptown has well defined boundaries. They are: Foster on the north; Lake Michigan on the east; Montrose , and Irving Park on the south; Ravenswood , and Clark on the west. Uptown borders three community areas and Lake Michigan...

, Lake View

Lakeview, Chicago

Lake View, or Lakeview, is one of the 77 community area of the Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east...

, Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park, Chicago

Lincoln Park, is one of the 77 community areas on Chicago, Illinois North Side, USA. Named after Lincoln Park, a vast park bordering Lake Michigan, the community area is anchored by the Lincoln Park Zoo and DePaul University...

, and Near North

Near North Side, Chicago

The Near North Side is one of 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located north and east of the Chicago River, just north of the central business district . To its east is Lake Michigan and its northern boundary is the 19th-century city limit of Chicago,...

Thorndale Beach

Thorndale Beach is located at 5934 north in Edgewater

Edgewater, Chicago

. This was once a standalone beach, as recently as the 1970s, but shifting sand has connected it to Hollywood Beach to the south. There is a boardwalk ramp, to allow wheelchair access closer to the shoreline. George Lane Park, located here, provides a children's playground. There is also a landscaped flower garden in the park across Sheridan Road.

Kathy Osterman Beach (formerly Hollywood Beach)

Located at the 5800 North block where Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive is a mostly freeway-standard expressway running parallel with and alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois, USA. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue , Lake Shore Drive is designated as part of U.S...

ends at a curve that feeds into Sheridan Road

Sheridan Road

Sheridan Road is a major north-south thoroughfare that leads from Diversey Parkway in Chicago, Illinois, north to the Illinois-Wisconsin border and beyond to Racine. Throughout most of its run, it is the easternmost north-south through street, closest to Lake Michigan...

(near West Hollywood Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive) in Edgewater

Edgewater, Chicago

, this crescent-shaped beach serves two groups. The northern half is largely a family beach and the southern half is largely a gay men and lesbian beach. The northern half of the beach has shallow water which makes it kid-friendly and there is a long boardwalk ramp to allow closer access to the shoreline for strollers and wheelchairs near the Ardmore Avenue entrance. Beach volleyball is popular here. There is a beach house and concession stand, which opened in 2010. Unique among Lincoln Park's northern beaches there is no nearby parking lot.

In the upper beach, north of Ardmore and the boardwalk, near Thorndale beach is a small park district beach grass reserve for migrating birds and butterfly.

Foster Avenue Beach

Foster Avenue Beach is located at 5200 north. It is a popular beach in the Edgewater

Edgewater, Chicago

section of the city. It was part of Lincoln Park’s final landfill extension completed in the 1950s between Foster Avenue and Ardmore Avenue. The design and planning for the extension started in 1947, with construction and fill beginning three years later. The work on the beach continued over the rest of the fifties, being concluded in 1958. The original beach house for the site, like the existing ones at Montrose and North Ave., was designed by E.V Buchsbaum, it was constructed sometime in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A new beach house with improved amenities was constructed in the 1990s.

Montrose Avenue Beach

Montrose beach is Chicago's largest beach. It is located in Uptown

Uptown, Chicago

. It also houses the most parking of any beach in Chicago. It is one of few beaches patrons may launch non-motorized watercraft, such as kayaks and catamarans, into Lake Michigan. It also has one of only two dog beaches in the Chicago Park District

Chicago Park District

, making it a popular beach for dog lovers. In the fenced off dog-friendly section at the north end of the beach leashless dogs are permitted once on the sand. Montrose beach hosts the Junior Guard regional championships, the annual Beach Soccer Festival, and numerous runs and walks for various charities. The beach house on the south-end of the beach was designed by E.V. Buchsbaum, it was modeled after the North Avenue Beach House, and looks like a lake steamer. Unfortunately, in the 1950s, the east wing of the beach house burned in a fire, which was not rebuilt. The beach house was recently remodeled with a 3000 square feet (278.7 m²) patio deck, it will house only the third full service restaurant, named "The Dock at Montrose Beach", at a Chicago beach after Oak Street Beachstro and North Avenue's Castaways. It is part of the Park District's plan to add "more upscale concessions to the lakefront". Due to budget constraints Chicago eliminated the traditional July 3 fireworks in Grant Park, instead opting for a down-scaled fireworks displays in three different locations in Chicago on the 4th of July, the north side display will now be held at Montrose Beach every year.

North Avenue Beach

41.9175°N 87.6275°W

The North Avenue Beach, located at 1600 north, is considered by many to be Chicago's premier beach. It has the largest lifeguard staff and is home to the most developed beachhouse. Technically running from North Avenue to Diversey Harbor in the Lincoln Park neighborhood

Lincoln Park, Chicago

, North Avenue Beach is characterized by its piers which hold the sand in place and create a scalloped shoreline, terminating in a Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

-like hook. The beach hosts international volleyball tournaments as well as millions of sun worshippers every year. Chicago Park District lines the beach with poles for individuals and leagues to hang volleyball nets. These nets and this portion of the lakefront bike/running/blading path attract large numbers of people on weekends and weeknights. North Avenue is also center stage for the Chicago Air & Water Show

Chicago Air & Water Show

The Chicago Air & Water Show is an annual air show held on the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois. The show has been held each year since 1959 and is Chicago's second most popular festival...

, which draws over a million people a day from Ohio to Diversey along the lakefront. North Avenue Beach is the site of the annual AVP

Association of Volleyball Professionals

The Association of Volleyball Professionals, or AVP, is a beach volleyball tour which takes place throughout the United States. The summer tour starts in April and continues almost every weekend until the end of October....

Chicago Open.
The beach house resembles an ocean liner and contains bike and sports equipment rental, a bar and restaurant (Castaways), concession stand, a lifeguard station, and restrooms.

Oak Street Beach

Oak Street

Oak Street (Chicago)

Oak Street is a short street on Chicago's Gold Coast at 1000 North in Chicago's street numbering system, running from 138 east to 648 west in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It ends without crossing the North Branch of the Chicago River...

Beach, located at 1000 north, covers the area from the North Avenue 'Hook' Pier south to Ohio Street Beach (Illinois St. Beach, Olive Beach), about 1.5 mi (2 km). Oak Street is home to the largest area of deep water swimming in the city (1/2 mile (800 m) over 10 ft (3 m)). Until 2006 Oak Street Beach was also the only place in the city where SCUBA divers could dive close to the shore. The north ledge was once a hot spot for the city's gay community, and still is a second home to thousands of sunbathers, runners, skaters and bikers. At one point Oak Street was the city's most popular beach with its proximity to downtown and boasted tens of thousands of visitors each day. Oak Street Beach is also home to Chicago's only chess pavilion and an outdoor restaurant called the Oak Street Beachstro that is assembled every summer and dismantled at the end of the season.

Ohio Street Beach

This beach, located in Jane Addams Memorial Park and Olive Park, is just north of Ohio Street (400N) east of Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive

. It faces north, rather than the usual east, because it formed on its own in a bay created by the Jardine Water Purification Plant

Jardine Water Purification Plant

The Jardine Water Purification Plant, formerly the Central District Filtration Plant, is the largest capacity water filtration plant in the world, located at 1000 E. Ohio Street north of Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois...

which juts out into the Lake. Due to its unusual orientation, Ohio Street Beach serves as an ideal training site for open water swimming. One can swim north 0.5 miles (804.7 m) to the Oak Street curve without ever being more than a few feet from the seawall and shallow water.

Humboldt Park Beach

This is not a lakefront beach. It is located in a former lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

of Humboldt Park

Humboldt Park, Chicago

Humboldt Park is one of 77 officially designated community areas located on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois. The Humboldt Park neighborhood is widely known for its large Puerto Rican presence...

which was dredged and given a sand bottom. At 41.9066°N 87.7031°W, this "beach" is mostly used by small children as a shallow wading pond. It is guarded in the summer and drained when not guarded.

Burnham Park Beaches

Burnham Park

Burnham Park (Chicago)

runs for 6 miles (9.7 km) along Chicago's lakefront from Grant Park

Grant Park (Chicago)

in the north to Jackson Park

Jackson Park (Chicago)

in the south, through the neighborhoods of Near South

Near South Side, Chicago

The Near South Side is a community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located just south of the downtown central business district, the Loop, which is itself a community area...

, Douglas

Douglas, Chicago

Douglas, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. The neighborhood is named for Stephen A. Douglas, a famous Illinois politician, whose estate included a tract of land given to the federal government...

, Oakland

Oakland, Chicago

Oakland, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, USA, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Some of Chicago's great old homes maybe seen on Drexell Boulvard. 19th century women's rights and Jewish activist Hannah Greenebaum lived in Oakland. The late 19th century...

, Kenwood

Kenwood, Chicago

Kenwood, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.Kenwood was part of Hyde Park Township, which was annexed by the City of Chicago in 1889....

and Hyde Park

Hyde Park, Chicago

Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...

12th Street Beach

41°51′48.53"N 87°36′26.97"W

The 12th Street Beach is just south of the Adler Planetarium

Adler Planetarium

The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum in Chicago, Illinois was the first planetarium built in the Western Hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today. Adler was founded and built in 1930 by the philanthropist Max Adler, with the assistance of the first director of the planetarium, Philip Fox...

on Northerly Island (formerly the site of Meigs Field

Meigs Field

Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport , was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003. It was built on Northerly Island, the man-made peninsula that was also the site of the 1933–1934 Century of Progress in Chicago....

). The beach runs from about 1300 S to about 1450 S, but was named 12th Street Beach rather than (unlucky) 13th Street Beach. When 12th Street was renamed Roosevelt Road

Roosevelt Road

Roosevelt Road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only one mile south of Madison Street...

the beach retained its name, but now is sometimes called 14th Street Beach.
There is also open water swimming that is great for triathletes or avid open water swimmers. The beach has bathrooms, a concession stands, and a lifeguard station.

31st Street Beach

41°50′20.75"N 87°36′22.49"W

The 31st Street Beach is located in Burnham Park

Burnham Park (Chicago)

. The beach is host every year to the Junior Lifeguard Chicago Area Tug-o-War.

Oakwood / 41st Street Beach

4100 S. Lake Shore Drive (41st St. and Lake Michigan, parking at Oakwood Blvd.)

49th Street Beach

49th Street Beach is a small stone beach in Burnham Park

Burnham Park (Chicago)

. It is not guarded, so swimming is not allowed.

57th Street Beach

41°47′29.88"N 87°34′46.16"W

The 57th Street Beach is in the city's Hyde Park

Hyde Park, Chicago

neighborhood, across Lake Shore Drive

Lake Shore Drive

from the Museum of Science and Industry

Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)

The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...

. Recent renovations have made it easier to access with two large underpasses at the intersection of 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. 57th Street Beach provides an area of deep swimming south of Promontory Point

Promontory Point (Chicago)

Promontory Point is a man-made peninsula jutting into Lake Michigan. It is located in Chicago's Burnham Park. The Point was constructed from landfill and by the late 1930s was protected by a seawall or revetment...

63rd Street Beach

41°46′55.43"N 87°34′22.83"W

The 63rd Street Beach is in Jackson Park

Jackson Park (Chicago)

. It is home to the largest and oldest beach house in the City. In July 1913, Jackson Park Beach was the cite of a clash over required bathing attire when Dr. Rosalie Ladova was arrested for disorderly conduct for swimming in her bloomers after removing her bathing skirt. The establishment of this landmark came about due to the resident's of the area complaining to the city to extend the beach. Thus in 1914, the city ordered a 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) expansion to 63rd St. The South Park Commission architects came up with the plan to build the 63rd Street Pavilion. The construction was completed in 1919. The building historically provided showers, medical rooms, and bathrooms. Due to the building's age, it was restored in the year of 2000. Today the pavilion is used by boaters, beach goers, and can be used for special events.

South Shore Beaches

There are three beach areas in the South Shore, Chicago community

South Shore, Chicago

South Shore is one of 77 well-defined community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. A predominately black neighborhood located along Chicago's southern lakefront, it is a relatively stable and gentrifying neighborhood...

South Shore Beach

South Shore Beach is the beach behind the Chicago Park District's South Shore Cultural Center

South Shore Cultural Center

The South Shore Cultural Center, in Chicago, Illinois, is a cultural facility located at 71st Street and South Shore Drive, in the city's South Shore neighborhood. It encompasses the grounds of the former South Shore Country Club....

(formerly South Shore Country Club), which is located at the intersection of 71st and South Shore Drive. The Country club is a magnificent old building and it home to a ballroom, restaurant, golf course and tennis courts. The Beach also runs up against 67th street beach and Jackson Park

Ashe Beach

Ashe Beach Park is a newer addition to the Chicago Park District's beaches, bought in 1979 and named for the late tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

great Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...

, after he died of AIDS in 1993. In addition to the beach, the park features two tennis courts. It is located between 74th and 75th Streets in the South Shore community

South Shore, Chicago

Rainbow Beach

Rainbow Beach is officially located at 3111 E. 77th St., is a beach in the Chicago Park District's Rainbow Beach & Park that stretches from 75th Street to 78th Street on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Rainbow Beach was named such in 1918.

Starting with the 1919 Race Riot

Chicago Race Riot of 1919

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 was a major racial conflict that began in Chicago, Illinois on July 27, 1919 and ended on August 3. During the riot, dozens died and hundreds were injured. It is considered the worst of the approximately 25 riots during the Red Summer of 1919, so named because of the...

, Chicago had a history of race related disturbances in the 20th century related to use of public resources, such as parks and beaches. Rainbow beach was an area of controversy for black and white youth. Black families that were economically dependent on the nearby South Chicago steel mills had avoided the public hostility of the lifeguards and white bathers. Demographic shifts and racial climate change of the 1960s led to a July 7 and 8, 1961 “freedom wade-in” at Rainbow Beach staged by an interracial coalition of demonstrators, including members of the NAACP Youth Council.

Calumet Park Beaches

Calumet Park, which is not to be confused with Calumet Park, IL, has a mile of lakefront and contains three beaches located at the 9600, 9800 and 9900 South blocks along Lake Michigan. The main beach has a Beach House with a concessions stand. The park is in the East Side neighborhood

East Side, Chicago

East Side is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the far south side of the city, between the Calumet River and the Illinois-Indiana state line, approximately south of Downtown Chicago...

. Forming part of Chicago's city limit, it is on the border between Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

and Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.