Anti-Aircraft Gun at Montrose Beach, Chicago, 1952

Montrose Beach, located in Uptown, is Chicago's largest beach. It's hard to believe this relaxing spot once was part of Chicago's civil defense missile program of the fifties and sixties, when over 600 Nike Ajax missiles (later replaced with the Nike Hercules, a nuclear-tipped missile) protected the city during the Cold War. 

WBEZ has a fascinating article on the subject, including a map of the missile locations, so be sure to check that out.

This image currently available on eBay here: Uptown in the Cold War

Montrose Beach in Color, 1946

Wow! And Uptown suddenly comes to life! It's sometimes startling, after viewing hundreds of black and white images of the neighborhood, to suddenly catch a glimpse of it as it really was, in wonderful, bold, bright color! This was taken shortly after WWII.