The limestone blocks that define the west and east ends of Rainbow beach are dense with stone carvings, mostly executed in the decades following World War II. The beach itself dates as far back as 1908, but the limestone structures were installed later.
The carvings include some first-rate figurative images alongside hundreds of names and initials, many of them left by lifeguards working at the beach.
According to Buzz Zingaro, who made at least three carvings himself, the lifeguards would pass around hammers and chisels and carve their names during down time. Accompanying the name would be the years they worked. For Zingaro, that was 1963-4-5-6-7-8.
There are three mostly separate locations where carvings thrived — the jetty at the west end of the beach, the longer jetty at the east end, and the adjacent revetment. (Rainbow Beach is oriented west to east even though the Chicago shoreline as a whole run north to south). The rocks in all three locations have shifted dramatically over the years, and rising lake levels have put some under water. But the site is rich in art that remains visible if you’re willing to climb and wade.
Rainbow Beach Revetment Carvings Gallery
Rainbow Beach West Jetty Carvings Gallery
Rainbow Beach East Jetty Carvings Gallery
Find lakefront carvings by location.
I knew Buzz Zingaro from Jeffery Manor back in the day. A great kid. He and his dad would hop on the Jeffery #5 with their golf clubs at 100th Street and Paxton to play at Jackson Park. Those were the days.