History
Lincoln Park began as a public cemetery during Chicago’s early history, and was first designated as parkland in 1860. Over the years, it has grown into a large park of 1212 acres, especially due to many landfill extensions. Oak Street beach is one landfill addition. In the 1870s, Lake Shore Drive had been extended to connect such with Pine Street (which is now N. Michigan Avenue). However, this stretch of Lake Shore Drive had suffered extensive damage from storms and lakeshore erosion, and it became necessary to construct a large breakwater system.
The Lincoln Park Commission built a breakwater which extended from North Avenue to Oak Street, and then even farther south to Ohio Street. This project included a new sand beach at Oak Street in the late 1890s. Chicago’s Drainage Canal was completed in 1899, which diverted sewage that had previously been dumped into Lake Michigan. This innovation made the lake much more desirable for swimming and bathing.
Through the 1960s the sand area of Oak Street covered more than twice the area it does now, and the water was as much as three feet higher than its current level. The beach was popular for residents and tourists as a summer social spot near down town.
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), and is training grounds for hundreds of triathletes and distance swimmers. 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 is a second home to thousands of sunbathers, runners, skaters and bikers. Oak Street is one of the city's most popular beaches, with its proximity to downtown, and boasts thousands of visitors each day during the beach season.
The popular Oak Street Bistro is open throughout the beach season.
