63rd St. Beach House

6300 S. Lake Shore Drive (E. Hayes Drive @ Lake Michigan) is the address for 63rd Street Beach in Jackson Park. This beach offers a wide range of amenities to visitors. Stop by Belly Up for delicious Jamaican cuisine, or Leave With a Smile for snacks and drinks. Restrooms, interactive water fountains, showers, and meeting rooms are all available to beachgoers at the historic beach house. It is possible to rent the beach house. In 1871, the renowned Central Park designers, Olmsted & Vaux, built Jackson Park, as well as the adjacent Midway Plaisance and Washington Park. By 1888, the region had a paved beach built of granite bricks that covered the whole lakefront in Jackson Park. Given that untreated sewage was being poured into Lake Michigan at the time, it's no surprise that the beaches were used as paved walkways for strolling or promenading rather than wading or bathing. When Chicago's ingenious Drainage Canal was completed in 1899 and began transporting sewage to other sites, the lakefront became a popular spot for public swimming. After receiving several requests from South Side residents for larger beaches at the turn of the century, the South Park Commissioners opted to expand the beach sand area. In 1914, they devised a new plan for the landfill, and three years later, the 10-acre beach extension was completed. By 1919, an elegant bathing pavilion had been built near to the beach as part of this concept. The bathing pavilion, now known as the 63rd Street Beach House, was renovated by the Chicago Park District in 2000. The 63rd Street Beach House is a beautiful Classical Revival structure. The remarkable structure was designed by South Park Commission in-house architects. The magnificent exposed-aggregate concrete building, completed in 1919, takes full advantage of Lake Michigan with its open balconies and loggias (ground-level open-air galleries), allowing for lovely lake vistas and nice breezes. Bathrooms and baths, medical facilities, and separate courtyards for men and women with hundreds of wooden changing booths were all given in the past. The open courtyards are now tastefully landscaped places with an interactive water element, rather than wooden booths (made possible by the Max Schiff Foundation).