Chicago’s Lakefront Rock Carvings By Location

Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline hosts an amazing collective work of art, engraved on the limestone blocks that run down in steps to the water along several miles of its length. The thousands of rock carvings made by mostly anonymous creators starting in the first half of the 20th century represent an efflorescence of public art that is unique in the world, and barely acknowledged in Chicago. The carvings start at Calumet Beach Park near the Indiana state line and end 22 miles north, just south of Osterman Beach at Hollywood Avenue. More than 6,000 of these carvings have survived into

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The La Rabida Rock Carvings

Behind La Rabida Hospital at 65th Street and Lake Michigan there is an exquisite collection of rock carvings from the 20th century. Or I should say once exquisite, as they have taken a beating from the lake and the weather in recent years. This spot, where carving began in the 1930s, includes one of the finest carved rocks along the lake, which I call the Peace Rock, as well as a compass beautifully rendered in stone. The compass, however, is on a rock that has already started sliding into the lake, and more are sure to follow absent some kind

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Montrose Area Rock Carvings: How To Find Them

Nearly 500 rock carvings survive on the limestone steps in the Montrose Beach/Montrose Harbor area of Chicago, although many of those along Montrose Beach are buried under encroaching sand. You can click on the map below for a downloadable and interactive set of maps that show the locations of the most interesting carvings in this area. This document is suitable for printing, or you can click on each carving description to see an image of the artwork. Below the map is a gallery showing all the carvings, from north at the dog beach to south, just past the entrance to

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Foster Beach Rock Carvings: How To Find Them

The Foster Beach area is home to more than 600 rock carvings on the limestone blocks that line the shore. This page features a selection of the 200 or so carvings that run from the north end of Foster Beach to Osterman Beach at Hollywood Avenue, and the best of the about 400 carvings that start at the south end of Foster Beach and stretch a bit less than a mile to the Montrose Dog Beach. The carvings north of the beach are among the easiest to see along the Chicago waterfront. The concrete deck at the base of the

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The Lost Rock Carvings of Montrose Harbor

Montrose Harbor on Chicago’s North Side was once the site of a remarkable set of rock carvings on the limestone blocks that ran down in steps to the water. The large blocks were put in place when the harbor was built in the late 1930s, as they were in locations up and down the Chicago waterfront, and removed when the Montrose Harbor lakefront was rebuilt in the early 2000s. The remarkable carvings — dozens of them — were demolished along with the blocks that hosted them and are lost forever. At that time the lakefront carvings were virtually unknown in

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Morgan Shoal Carvings: How to Find Them

The section of Chicago’s shoreline that abuts Morgan Shoal in Hyde Park is home to more than 1,100 rock carvings made over the last 90+ years by mostly anonymous creators. These include the city’s earliest dated carvings, back to 1930.  This stretch of shore, from around Hyde Park Boulevard to 45th Street, is also the most deteriorated, with the old limestone revetments that once protected the parkland in a state of disrepair or, in some places, disappearance.  But hundreds of carvings are still findable by the intrepid searcher, at least for now. The city has funded a major reconstruction of

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Stanley Szwarc Early Work

This gallery features a selection of mostly early pieces made by Stanley Szwarc. This work, dating to the 1980s or early 1990s, belonged to the late Rich Bowen, one of Stanley’s principal patrons, and came to me through the generosity of his family.  Stanley’s creativity flowered from the beginning. You can see a large collection of his work in the galleries below or read more about Stanley.

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European Antiquities

I am neither a photographer or an antiquarian, but I do love antiquities, which makes me a menace with a digital camera. These photo galleries feature sites in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and Turkey. There are a lot of antiquities here. They all interested me, but proceed at your own risk. France Ancient Alyscamps Cemetery French Castles And Chateaux, A Sampling Mont-Saint-Michel The 12th Century Fontevraud-L’Abbaye Normandy Sites to See Paris Antiquities & More South of France Antiquities St. Trophime, Arles Spain Barcelona Toledo Italy Some Churches of Rome The Roman Forum And Colosseum Rainy Day in Pompeii

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