Burnham Park and 31st St. Beach – Chicago IL

Description

“The 31st Street Beach is located in Burnham Park, a green space first envisioned by renowned architect Daniel Burnham in his seminal 1909 Plan of Chicago…Burnham Park served as the site for Chicago’s second World’s Fair, A Century of Progress, between 1933 and 1934. After the fair, the newly consolidated Chicago Park District made additional plans for Burnham Park that echoed Burnham’s original vision for the space. With federal funding through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the park district began improvements in the mid-1930s, including additional landfill, playfields, walkways, tennis courts, basketball courts, and the 31st Street Beach and beach house. A 1997 initiative called for the replacement of outdated structures on the lakefront, so the modern beach house replaced the original structure. At turn of the 21st century, the Army Corps of Engineers began to reconstruct the shoreline revetments in Burnham Park from 26th Street to 56th Street, allowing for the expansion of 31st Street Beach into a much larger beach.”