Creation of Montrose Point, 1936

Sandfilling and Breakwater Extension, Great Lakes, 1936. You can see the distinctive horse shoe at the end of the pier.

The Day a "Tidal Wave" Struck Montrose Harbor, Chicago

After Bill posted about the 1954 seiche that struck Chicago, I became interested in learning more about the phenomenon and found this photo on eBay of the aftermath:

And this article from the Tribune:

The Big Wave
The Fateful Day Chicagoans Learned The Meaning Of `Seiche`
August 18, 1985|By Article by William M. Gordon.

When the last body was recovered from the lake 10 days later, a coroner`s jury could finally rule that the deaths had been caused by an act of God. It was small comfort for the bereaved. What had happened to their loved ones on the city`s lakefront was still unexplained and hard to believe. Without warning, a 10-foot wave had risen suddenly from a calm Lake Michigan and swept eight shore fishermen to their deaths on a hazy Saturday morning in June of 1954.

It was an unheard-of natural disaster. By Sunday morning, however, the newspapers had taught Chicago what to call the wave and how to pronounce its quaint French name: "seiche," pronounced saysh. But when it came to explaining what had caused the wave, reporters foundered in the half-explanations of weathermen who did not yet understand it themselves... (article continues here: The Big Wave)

The Rocks, The Waves, The Seiche

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent
June 12 2011

THE ROCKS

We referred to Lake Michigan as the Rocks. As kids, we swam at Montrose Beach. Then as we got older, we swam at the "Rocks." It was an age progression thing, first at Wilson Ave; then, as we got older, we went to Leland Ave and worked up to Lawrence Ave in our early teens.

Now the Rocks between Lawrence and Leland was always crowded. So, to ensure a "Spot on the Rocks," every group painted a rectangle, circle, or square with the names of their particular group inside. A lot of these areas had some pretty fancy designs inside. These areas were always respected and never violated. If we got there and someone was inside, we asked them to move, and they always did. So, we would put our towels inside the square, our girlfriend at the time would write her name on our back in lipstick so when we got a sunburn and wiped off the lipstick you could see her name in white skin right there on our backs.

DODGE THE WAVES

Now here was one of the dumbest things we ever came up with. Starting at the end of Spring, when the winds begin to blow, we would all head to the Rocks. We would stand on the very top tier of the rocks,  look out a couple of hundred feet, and watch for a big swell coming in. As the swell got within about 25 feet, we would run to the bottom row, up to the edge, and then try to get back up to the top of the Rocks without getting wet. Most of the time we didn't make it; we didn't care, we were challenging nature. The long walk home, soaking wet, down Lawrence Ave was rough.

We all knew it was a dumb thing to do, but we also knew it was the thing to do, because it was something to do. We never really thought of the danger involved. At that age you're immortal and can live forever.

THE SEICHE

I never heard of a Seiche or knew what it was until about 1954. A seiche is sort of an inland Tsunami, when a swell of water came up and washed over the Horseshoe and Jetties and washed over a hundred fishermen into the lake. Eight drowned; they had nothing to hold on to. This is the reason that today there is a cable running the length of the pier and jetty.

(Editor's Note: To learn more about Seiches on Lake Michigan, and to see the full-size view of the below graphic, go to: Lake Michigan Coastal Seiches)

1953 Graffiti Claim in Uptown, at Wilson

Graffiti in Uptown is nothing new, but at least this is legible. Can't say the same for much of the stuff I read on the walls these days.

This photo was taken along the lakefront at Wilson Avenue in 1953. Image for sale on eBay here: Wilson Avenue Lakefront

Update from reader Bill Matteson: This is not Graffiti. It is a claim. What we did in those days was to stake out our territory on the rocks; this is where we put our towels, caught some sun, and swam. No other group would violate another group's territory. We had squares and designs and our names, this group was not very artistic.

Fishing From Pier

I don't know for certain which pier this is, but it's so reminiscent of the fishermen you see now on the north side that I wanted to include it.

Irving Park Boulevard and the Lake Shore

This is one of the earliest postcard images I've seen for the area. The Pattington was built in 1906 and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1995, the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois awarded The Pattington the Richard H. Driehaus Preservation Award.

Top image courtesy John Chuckman; bottom image courtesy Google.

Fishing in Lake Michigan, North Shore

The news this past month of an innocent fisherman being randomly pushed into Montrose Harbor has been particularly disturbing. The lake front has always been a great place for families to hang out. This postcard image shows fishermen nearly a hundred years ago enjoying Lake Michigan on a summer's day.

My dad told me how, in the days before air conditioning units were common in homes, he and his siblings and friends would either sleep on the roof of their six-flat in hopes of catching a breeze or camp out on the beach with hundreds of other Uptown and Edgewater residents who were trying to escape the dog days of August. This would have been back in the 1950s.

While I can't quite picture myself ever feeling safe enough to sleep on the beach (disregarding, of course, the fact that you can't even do that anymore), and while I wouldn't go there at night alone, I have always felt comfortable walking along the lake in the daylight. It's events like this random homicide that make you think twice about your personal safety.