June 19, 2011

Belmont Yacht Harbor

Historical Snippets
of Our Harbor
This post is related to my next post called 
Belmont Harbor Press which is a collection
 of press photos of the harbor
but first ...

A 1968 Survey Depiction
Perspective


 
How it Came to Be,
Riparian Rights
Before existence of Sheridan Road and 
North Lake Shore Drive 

The then existing lakefront was once full of street-end beaches and Riparian Rights of the property owners along the then existing lakefront. So, to understand the expansion of Lincoln Park - the park northward from original space south of Webster Avenue and the constructions of the harbors the reader needs to understand raprian rights and a government's duty to compensate the property owner of their lakefront property if indeed its' acquition 
is warranted for the public good.
Riparian Rights are traditional rights that attach to waterfront property by virtue of that property actually meeting the shoreline. They're the rights of the waterfront property owner to gain access to the water or to gain access to their property from the water. Riparian rights or limits date back the when British Empire owned the American colonies. Riparian Rights/Limits became a major issue in the late 19th century early 20th. Who owns the land under the water & access to the lake, the property owner?, the city,? the State of Illinois? And what is 'fair' compensation for the shoreline property?
A Pier 
that was in the Way
This became a police matter due to a complex legal issue concerning ownership of water rights along Lake Michigan and the desire to expand the park northward beyond Belmont Avenue. A State of Illinois sanctioned Lincoln Board of Commissioners earned the right to over-ride riparian legality and to order the police to remove the privately owned pier so the landfill for the park could continue northward beyond 
Belmont Yacht Harbor. 
(The harbor opened by 1913)
Below is an article from 1894
about the loss of Riparian Rights
to an apparent property owner
Plans for a Harbor & Road
in the Park in 1894
Designed as
Lagoons by 1909

From Cook County 1909 Lakeview Township, Illinois
Published by Real Estate Map and Publishing Co.
in 1909
Belmont Avenue to Cornelia Street

Belmont Avenue to Fullerton Avenue

A Property owner sues the governing board responsible for the Lincoln Park expansion 
at Addison & Lake Shore Drive
in 1916 
A Federal Law
on Riparian Rights & its Limits
in 1917
this law would in allow the Lincoln Board of Commissioners to arbitrary buy private beaches from private ownership and allow the extension of the park further north
The Then Existing
 Lakefront in 1894
several roadways let to street-end beaches 
including Belmont Avenue until the widening/expanding of Sheridan Road &
Lake Shore Drive 1937-1942 by the WPA 
another thorny issue was the 
former Elisha Huntley property
but not for lakeshore issues but for the deed(s) to the land itself. Their were several claims to it at the time. It is important to note Huntley once owned property from Grace Street to Addison Street, Evanston Avenue (Broadway) to the then existing lakefront. He also owned the Lake View Hotel from 1854 
until the early 1880's??.

The Dredging 
of Belmont Yacht Harbor
an artist's depiction made on rice paper
 images from Ebay, now part of my collection
a typical dedger
Chicago History Museum 1922 above
negatives - Chicago Daily News photographer 
Chicago History Museum 1914 below
Edgar Britton Chicago Modernist Artist WPA Era 
Belmont Harbor Watercolor 1941
15 by 25 inches
image - Ebay
The 'Yacht' Harbor 
Opened by 1913
1916 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
from Diversey to W Sheridan Road
this map corresponds with the article above
zoomed view below
a harbor view via postcard
I would guess this is Cornelia Street, the northern border of Lincoln Park at that time
The Invasion of
Manila Harbor of 1898
The re-inacted in 1917 at Belmont Harbor
A 1939 Survey Depiction 
of the Harbor by Illinois:
Lincoln Park Board of Commissioners
a 1913-1916 report(pdf p.18 on the Yacht Harbor) 
a 1914 image below - University of Chicago Digital Library
Lincoln Park reached only to Cornelia at this time
The Build Out
 of the Shoreline
 with special attention to Type C & D
images - City of Chicago: History of Shoreline edited

 
The northward extension of Lincoln Park 
1916 negatives - Chicago History Museum
Pumping the water north of Cornelia Street for landfill
3 by 2 in size
the second clubhouse to the right and what could be the Stout Estate to the left with a view of the then existing Lake Shore Drive
zoomed from above
a 1920's View
a view probably  the late 1920's
it would appear the bridge is now gone
with a zoomed view below - part of my collection
a zoomed view of the bridge below
1925 photo of the harbor area advertising apartment hotels with new landfill north of the harbor 
photo above - Art Institute of Chicago
A Vintage Aerial View
1927 photo - Chicago & Midwest/Newberry Library
this link provides a zoomed view of all areas of the photo. First click on the arrow at the top right of the photo and then continue clicking
this link provides a zoomed view of all areas of the photo that includes a view of a bridge within the harbor
a zoomed view of the bridge below
 The Harbor Bridge 
X marks the spot
1927 photo - Chicago & the Midwest/Newberry Library
zoomed from above showing the bridge
1927 aerial views
photo - Chicago and The Midwest/ Newberry Library
zoomed views from the 1927 photo above
an artist depiction 
of the bridge in 1936
unknown source
The Harbor's Beach
Before North Lake Shore Drive was widen by 1942 the harbor had a small beach at the foot of Belmont Avenue
aerial views
photo - Chicago and The Midwest/ Newberry Library
zoomed views from the 1927 photo above
1924 above
1929 below
and then in 1930 
the beach as it looked by 1937 
before the beach was replaced by a wider Lake Shore Drive. The Belmont Underpass would be constructed in 1942
Beach & Traffic 
in 1929

 images - Jim Martin via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
3314 Sheridan Road building in the background
Other Scenes & Events 
from the 1920's 

 These scanned black & white photos are from a publication called 'Dearborn Magazine' published in 1922 of the scenes along the lakefront from Diversey to Belmont Harbors. During this time period Lincoln Park was land-filled no further north than Cornelia Avenue. The pages of this magazine were scanned by Google making an impressionist view of each photo. 
 
The Original Harbor 
Clubhouse
postcard - part of my collection
By 1920 Chicago Yacht Club and the Lincoln Park Yacht Club merged that included Diversey & Belmont Harbors to a united system. The next year a new clubhouse at Belmont Harbor replaced the lumber schooner called the Carrier that had served as the Lincoln Park Yacht Club clubhouse at Belmont Harbor from 1921-1923. Almost every harbor has a club or boathouse to booked activities for the purpose of entertainment. Belmont Yacht Harbor was of no exception. The original boathouse like was apparently mobile and sailed from its perth into the lake. 
framed photo below - part of my collection
The Vessel History
Rebuilt: Rig changed to a schooner at Chicago, IL, March 19, 1878. History:  First enrollment issued at Detroit, MI, on July 21, 1865. Disposition:  Abandoned in 1921. Donated by Lincoln Park Club, where she had served as clubhouse, to Naval Reserve at Milwaukee, in 1923. Remained at the harbor between 1921-1923. Being towed to Milwaukee it became waterlogged and sank five miles out from Chicago in September 29, 1923.
Some History 
of the BoatClub Houses
all images below are from a book called
'The Hundred Years 1875-1975'
and part of my private collection
The first boathouse was actually a once proud fairing vessel called the Carrier that was purchased in 1915  after the public opening of the harbor. At the time of the purchase the 177 ton vessel was 50 years old. 
There were plans by 1920 to move the boathouse on dry land - see image above. The Lincoln Park of Commissioners, an entity that governed the park and the roadways along the park vetoed the plan 
- no private building on public land.
The Fishfan inlet was also the location of the
speakeasy Chicago 
Mayor 'Big Bill' Thompson patronized. 
Big Bill owned his own vessel in the harbor
The Carrier got a full salute to its new location. 
It was sunk near Evanston Township's waters
The New Boathouse
This floating barge was completed in 1923 and dedicated on that Thanksgiving Eve.
Captain MacMillan was one of the original members of the Lincoln Park Yacht Club and on that day messaged in from the Arctic Circle expedition station to his friends in Chicago.

The Current Boathouse
By 1966 the old floating barge needed to be modernized 
and was re-dedicated that year. 
The 'floating' canopy was long gone
a 1950's? photo - Everyday Life in Chicago 
a 1957 view looking 
photo above - Tales of the Chicago Mackinac Race 
2017 photo below - Kurt Thomas via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook

map - Lake Michigan Yachting Association

photo - Sid  Hamm
photo - Belmont Harbor Chicago Yacht Club
photos be.low - Duane S. Chicago Yacht Club via Yelp
A Harbor Application Booklet 
from the 1930's
part of my private collection
zoomed from above
Some General History:
A Commercial Freighter Sank off 
Belmont Harbor in 1920

illustration below - Ebay
1921 The Race to Mackinac moved to 
Belmont Yacht Harbor
images - Dearborn Magazine published in 1920
A Mayoral Resident of Lake View 
& his Harbor
The relocation of the Race to Mackinac to Belmont Yacht Harbor from Jackson Park was probably attributed to this man ...
Mayor Big Bill Thompson had a yacht in Belmont Yacht Harbor and lived on the northwest corner of Belmont Avenue and Sheridan Road - currently inner LSD. This three termed mayor and his wife lived at 3202 Sheridan Road at Belmont Avenue in the former elegant 32 apartment complex called Lochby Court Apartments. The mayor was known as 'turning a blind eye' on the activities of Al Capone. He was a outspoken mayor who understood the politics of the city and his neighborhood who was pro German and anti British where the prominent & dominate populations were German & Irish.
campaign button unknown year - Ebay
According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, during his tenure as mayor and before WWI would publicly refer to the emperor of Germany as 'Kaiser Bill'. Big Bill " clashed with (then) Illinois governor Frank Lowden over a permit the mayor had issued for an anti-war rally" in his city. "Lowden had threatened to call out the National Guard to break up the protest, and Thompson vowed to use Chicago cops to resist if necessary." Military nor civil action was not ever taken. 
He was that type of a politician.
Big Bill Thompson docked his schooner Valmore at Belmont Yacht Harbor. The schooner was the first in its class to participated in the Race to Mackinac.
In 1919  

a reporter, a cop, and Big Bill's dog

His Residences
Big Bill lived along the lakefront in two locations according to a book called 'Chicago in Seven Days' was at the Barry Apartments at 3100 Sheridan Road and the Lochby Apartments depicted below
In the background is Big Bill's apartment complex  
- just beyond the sails/photo source unknown
photo - Art Institute of Chicago
image - Esty
The three-story building had 32 apartments with butler's pantries and large living rooms with wood-burning fireplaces.
the mayor at home
 Big Bill Thompson in his living room parlor
Mayor Bill Thompson is credited in the creation of a 1915 commission that lead to the current Chicago flag.
Several views of the Lochby Court Apartments built in 1911. The building won a gold medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1912 as "best designed building of the year" 
Big Bill's Speakeasy on Water

1925 photo - The Fish Club 'speakeasy' 
This boathouse was the home of a club called 'The Fish' that featured a cabaret and had turned a blind eye on the craft by the then 
Mayor Big Bill Thompson.  This establishment was referred as a membership only speakeasy during the 'dry years' of Prohibition. According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, Big Bill established the club in 1922 using Illinois state law. The State was promoting the "propagation of fish in Illinois waterways to help feed poor children". Thompson and his friends had other ideas in mind. According the publication Hidden History of Ravenswood & Lake View by Patrick Butler, the club members somehow failed to pay their bills and in 1928 during Prohibition creditors impounded the craft and "scuttled in the middle of Lake Michigan". During this time period there was a court battle pending about property offshore and the jurisdiction of city ordinances regarding gambling and drink on any offshore property even if it was connected by a bridge. The Fish Club was regarded offshore and a 'Streeterville-like' problem.
Editorial from 1928 Chicagoan Magazine 
One Year Later ...

A Cool Breeze 
in 1923
A Radio Message to the North Pole
in 1923
A Pleasant Scene in 1924
negative - Chicago History Museum
Kids at Sail in 1925
Fixing their Yacht 
in 1926
Someone had a Idea
in 1926 about an Event for 1933
Landfill Continues Northward 
During the 1920's
1925 photo - Chicago & Midwest/Newberry Library
follow link to zoom in
with a sample view below
all traffic on Lake Shore Drive exiting off Irving Park Road 
The breakwater for Montrose Harbor
1925 photo below - Chicago & Midwest/Newberry Library
Construction was underway for another harbor north of Belmont Yacht Harbor at Montrose Avenue. 
photo - Marty Swartz Living History of Illinois and Chicago
1928 photo - Calumet 412
Dredging for a new harbor called Montrose 
and probably the same type of vessels to create Belmont/Diversey areas
and below
pleasant scenes in 1929 at Belmont Harbor
negative - Chicago History Museum
in 1930
(one for several articles)

 
Below is a sample of the many articles on the Mackinac Race located in the Chicago Library online newspaper section. Just type the keywords Belmont Harbor and Mackinac for articles exclusively to our harbor. The researcher will need a library card number to access the online library
Samples of Various Articles
 about the Race
The Race of 1934
page 2
Harbor Traffic & 
Street Jams in 1934
Lake Michigan: 
the Winds & Waves
theses images are part of my personal collection
Buildings 
Along the Harbor
theses images are part of my personal collection

The Belmont Hotel along the harbor 
was completed by 1924

While this postcard has a date of 1940 most of the flats in this postcard were built during the 1920's 

The Chicagoan
an article from 1928


 
 
Mooring a Vessel
in the Harbor in 1929






The Storm of 1929 
This storm effected the entire shoreline of the northside
photos below - Daily News photographer, 
Chicago History Museum
A Yacht Race 
in 1930
a Majestic View 
in 1930
Another View
 in 1930
Set the Sails 
in 1934
Lining Up for the Race 
in 1934
Private Clubs & Boathouses 
as of 1937
1937 Chicago Recreational Survey Vol 1
view of Belmont/Diversey by 1938 & 1939 
photo - Chicago Harbors-Facebook
 from a personal photo album 
in 1942 by Ebay

The Boathouse 
in 1936
postcard - Ebay
Prepping for the Construction
 of Belmont Avenue Overpass Bridge
negatives - late 1930's - early 1940's
part of my private collection
a 1944 view showing the top of Temple Sholom
The path ranged from the northern edge of Lincoln Park northward
with a underpass at Barry Avenue 

a 1947 aerial view - Calumet 412
a 1947 press photo and text below
photo below - Chet-aero
a 1949 view 
of inner LSD & harbor - Chuckman Collection
Yachting off the Harbor 
in 1950
Fishing in 1952
a 1953 aerial view - Calumet 412
I have no idea what this building was - lower right corner.
It is also highlighted in the 1920's
 also
 in 1953 
Trash piles up in the Harbor
Not a Pretty Sight 
in 1953

Taking Action 
Against Boat Owners in 1953
a 1953 aerial view below - Calumet 412
Harbor Scenes 
in 1955
University of Chicago Collection via Explore Chicago

 The Cold War 
visits Belmont Harbor 
Once the location for the Nike Nuclear Missile Site
as it looked in 1962
with a zoomed view below
photos - Historical Aerials
photo - Matthew Gallagher via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
Join the conversation on Facebook
photo below - Andrew Bedno

Chicago, being a major commercial and industrial hub, was among the best-protected cities. It had 22 Nike sites, two of which Berhow says had single radar systems that controlled multiple sets of launchers. Berhow says in the mid-1950s more than 600 Nike Ajax missiles were in the Chicago area. This first-generation weapon was designed to intercept a single bomber. A few years later the Ajax was replaced by the Nike Hercules, which would use a nuclear-tipped warhead to destroy multiple aircraft at once. The Chicago region has held Lake Michigan in high regard (yes, it’s both beautiful and useful), but according to Berhow, the lake created a Cold War security challenge, mostly because the radar at the time was limited. “A Soviet Bomber group could actually have flown over the Pole and across Canada, and if it was flying down Lake Michigan, because of the range of the radars, it would have had a difficult time picking it up,” he says. The theory went that these enemy planes would approach undetected, at least until they were so close to Chicago that nothing could be done about any impending doom. That, Berhow says, is a big reason why the military placed three of Chicago’s 22 missile sites near the lake. One missile launch site was at Chicago’s Belmont Harbor with radar control towers near Montrose. Read the entire article

and another perspective video

A guided missile launcher 
is planned in 1955
 page 2
The missile launch site was located at Belmont Harbor with radar control towers for it near Montrose Harbor. Another site was at Burnham Park with radar towers at 37th Street, and the third was at Jackson Park with its radar towers at Promontory Point. According to a Chicago Tribune article from Aug. 30, 1958, the Belmont location was the first local site to receive the Hercules missiles upgrades.

The area as by 1969 - photo Ebay 
(enlargement)
zoomed below
While this video is NOT of Belmont Harbor it does give the viewer of what it MAY HAVE been like in our harbor
snip views from the video
The Final Months
in 1971
Back to the 
Other Views 
& News
1950's? postcard - Ebay
A family day at the harbor in 1955
also that year -  Oil travels from Indiana to harbor
Views of Yachts & Garbage
in 1953
Big Oil in the Harbor
in 1955
 Kodak-Chrome Views
in 1958
per seller at Ebay
Fish'in in the Harbor 
in 1960

 

 Views of the Harbor
in the 1960's
 by Ebay
Pilot Ditches Plane
in 1963
Kodka-Chrome 
Photo Collection 
by Scott August
"My grandfather had his boat at Belmont Harbor in the 50's and 60's. The skyline has certainly changed over the years since then. Here's a group of 35mm slides taken in 1960's from the back of 'The Rogal' at its' slip in the harbor."
1966 - Clean Up
The Seiche 
of Belmont Harbor
The most costly seiche occurred in 1954 with the most loss of human life at North Avenue Beach when a 10 foot wave washed fisherman into the lake ... and then again in 1962
A Boy Solo Fishing
on the Rocks in 1969
There was This Large Beer Can 
in the 1970's
*made of poured cement, so told*
edited photo - Lance Grey
 photo via Kevin Gumball O'Malley
The Testimonies
Lance Grey, a contributor of LakeView Historical, mentioned that
“It was a late arrival to to 'Rocks' mural craze of the early/mid '70's. the Old Style lasted well into the '80's.” 

And according to Wayne Folk, another contributor to my Facebook page, the Old Style Can was a place to hang-out and drink. “You would drink a can of old Style and talk about what's on the can. Then you would tell people you see the hitchhiker? They would look at the can for a while. Then the buzz. They would come back and say. "I don't see a hitchhiker on the can at all." You would say to them. "He must had gotten picked up already - Just drinking fun.” 

Maribel Selva, another contributor to LakeView Historical mentioned the following “What always struck me was how detailed it was...just like the can from back then. We would have a permanent 'meet at the old Style can day' and a time and when we show up; you never knew who would be there but always friends showed up. We always biked there with our backpacks filled with beer.”
photo above - Lance Grey
and the artist, Mike Walker ... 
photos below via Michael Jennings  
from Steven Stillwell
This is the artist, he painted it in the summer of 1974. Tara Marie told Original Chicago/Facebook mentioned he also painted many of the art work on the limestone rocks. He was a good man, he passed away a couple years ago. Kay Connell told Original Chicago on Facebook the beer can itself was produced from poured cement.
Wasn't there in '77 when I used to jog past Belmont Harbor.
some a just a many photos 
There was a section of the 'rocks' - the shoreline made of limestone boulders that was to protect the shoreline/parking lot from storm episodes that were patronized by LBGTQ+ residents and 'gay' friendly visitors of the area during the late 1970's until the anti-erosion project of the 2000's. The Belmont Harbor area of the rocks was a place to be safe from the chonic anti-homophobia of that time. Patrons of the rocks would not only gather in a safe place to sunbath and express themselves freely but would create art (my Facebook page) on the limestone.
in 2017 by Bill Daley
The Occupation
of the Belmont Harbor
(my Facebook page)
with photos from the Chicago Sun-Times
photos - Chicago Sun-Times via Chicago History Museum
video - UCLA film & television archives
The Clean-Up
photos - Sun-Times/Chicago History Museum
Dead Alewives Flooded the Harbor in 1971 
A small seiche (lake tidal wave) flooded the parking lot again leaving dead fish everywhere
 Belmont Harbor 1973 photo - Ebay
Oil Enters 
the Harbor Once Again
in 1975
And again in 1975 as in 1955 a slick of 1000 gallons of oil meanders towards Belmont Harbor from a freighter. 
Mail is Delivered 
in the Belmont Harbor in 1975
 Time to Set Sail 
in 1976
  Drugs at the Harbor Point 
in 1980
A Second 
but Private Boathouse is Discussed
(tried and failed) 
College Students 
Set Sail in 1981
and again in 1983
On-Ramp Construction
that failed in 1987
photos - Chicago History Museum
Views of Lake Shore Drive freeway ramp construction near the Belmont-North exit, West Belmont Avenue and North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois. Runners jog along the lake shore path while construction is underway. A court order halted construction the day photos were taken.
Date Depicted:
1987 October 20
Creator:
Jack Lenahan for Chicago Sun-Times
Apparently the Chicago Park District was sued for impacting the Lincoln Park Trail with an automobile entrance ramp to the Belmont Harbor parking lot from the south. I could not find any articles from the Chicago Public Library online section about it. 
On the Job 
in 1988
Andrea Hollis stacks buoys retrieved from Belmont Harbor as crews clear them out for the winter. She was the only woman working with the Chicago Park District's Marine Department in November 1988. photo by Carl Wagner (Vintage Tribune)
My source: Xavier Quintana via HIstorical Chicago-Facebook

Friends Forever 
Because of the Harbor!
page images - Lake View by Matthew Nickerson
Life near the Harbor
in 2010
Unofficial Fireworks 
in 2011
A 4th of July fireworks display were 
held at the harbor 
photos & text - Flickr
The following are comments from social media site once called Everyblock about the unofficial yet professionally done firework display north of the harbor.
The threads ...
Comment 1 - It was a group of renegade citizens concerned about the city failing 2 truly entertain us with their lame fireworks shows...these young robin hoods will keep bangin it out @ belmont every year 2 make sure everyone in the city gets a proper fireworks show 2 escape the dreary economic realities of city life.
Comment 2 - I want to be a renegade robin hood!! Let me know if there is a way to help out next year or if there are other fun projects planned at other times of the year.
Comment 3 - My friends plan on doing it every year for as long as possible...we keep it safe & super impressive since the city decided not 2 entertain us anymore...hopefully, other folks will get inspired 2 fight back & take everything into our own hands ... we'll just start building our own solar panels & wind mills block by block until we destroy the system.
A Trapeze School 
at the Harbor 
In 2011 they opened an outdoor location just south of Belmont Harbor in Chicago Park District's Lincoln Park. This school was an instant hit, and we added an indoor location at the Chicago Park District's Broadway Armory in spring 2012. This school continues to grow its community under the leadership of General Manager Steve Hammes, who discovered that teaching flying trapeze is just as much fun as performing juggling in the circus. 
photo - Lori K. Jones via Original Chicago-Facebook
TSNY Chicago hosts a number of summer camps for kids in collaboration with the Chicago Park District. Bonnie Miller manages our retail office in Chicago and is also our National Front Office Operations Manager. View some of the performance videos from their unofficial Facebook page!
A Belmont Harbor 
Opener in 2015   
This annual event occurs during the first days of Spring
2015 photos - Chicago Yacht Club Belmont Harbor

A big Catch
in 2023
William C. Bruckman
 Collection of 1986
the narrow section of the harbor below
from the harbor depicting 3150 Hawthorne building below
 
Artist & Photographer 
Harbor Views
photo - Pablo De Leon

photo - Anna Trivino 
 photo - Eldon Floon Gallery
Diane Bronstein - Esty photo - Etsy re4madoprints3 photo - Etsy liamparkinson a winter scene - Etsy via re4madoprints2a winter scene - Etsy re4madoprints2
& below photo - Craig Hagemeier
during the early 20th century 
the harbor was the staging area for this race
 the book is part of my collection
below are some images from the book
 The Attraction to this Island
It was the Victorians (aristocrats of the 1800’s) who made Mackinac Island one of the nation's most favored summer resorts. In the post-Civil War industrial age and before automobiles, vacationers traveled by large excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit to the cooler climes of Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks.
 Chicago Daily Tribune 1910 advertisement
a pinnacle point to the other lakes
and the St. Lawrence Seaway towards the Atlantic
The Town of Mackinac
 view of the town from the fort
view from the fort of the harbor below it
To accommodate overnight guests’ boat and railroad companies built summer hotels, such as the Grand Hotel in the late 19th century. Victorians, like travelers everywhere, shopped for souvenirs, and Mackinac shops supplied them. In the 1890's wealthy Midwestern industrialists who wanted to spent more than a few nights on Mackinac built their own summer cottages on the east and west bluffs. Soon a social life [would include] tennis, hiking, bicycling, examining the local natural wonders, and at the turn of the century, golf at on the new Wawashkamo Golf Course.
The Race in Photos
image - Tales of the Chicago Mackinac Race
Starting in 1898 with a mere five boats, The Mac had evolved into a world-class sporting event. After the first race in 1898, the Race to Mackinac was not held for five years until the second race in 1904. By 1906, the race had developed a healthy following and in that year the original Mackinac trophy was purchased. - Wikipedia
photos below - Chicago Daily News photographer,
Chicago History Museum
Mayor Big Bill Thompson's vessel before his mayoral election
images - Tale of the Chicago Mackinac Race
1957 map of the harbor 
image - Lake Michigan Yachting Association
Some Other Historical Moments
1957 image - Lake Michigan Yachting Association
Mackinac Island area map
1957 image - Lake Michigan Yachting Association
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
Vencedor won 1904 & 07; wrecked in 1911
 via Library of Congress
In 1898 the first race had only five participants. One of the crafts was a schooner owned and operated by Ben and John McConnell who both owned homes on Hawthorne Place; still standing. 
The Hawthorne
the owners Ben and John McConnell lived on Hawthorne Place during this time. Their mansions remain as of 2022.
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
photo below - Chicago History Museum
 In 1905 the first female skipper entered her schooner called the           Lady Eileen. In 1908  The era of the large schooners begins when       William Hale Thompson of Chicago, later to be known as Mayor 'Big Bill' Thompson entered his schooner, the Valmore. He won in 1909 & 1910. He would become mayor in 1915. 
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
In 1920 the Lincoln Park Yacht Club which included Belmont Harbor Station joined Chicago Yacht Club.  Also, that year harbor      was starting point in race. In 1925 was one of the challenging of 
the races with only 8 out of the 21 entries that would finished.
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
In 1936 thirteen sailing clubs participated that included 
forty-three yachts while after the war in 1946 fifty-seven yachts participated that year. No races occurred during the war.
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
In 1955 the race took almost 78 hours. In 1970 Ted Turner and his American Eagle encounters gales that exceeded 60 mph. 
Turner calls the lake a ‘mill pond’.
 image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
image - Tales of Chicago Mackinac Race 1898-1998
2000  Sixty boats were equipped with GPS devices.
2008  The 100th anniversary of the race to Mackinac Island.
2011  A storm to remember via YouTube.
2013  View a more placid ride to the island vial YouTube.
in video 2011
near Belmont Harborphoto - Skyline Fishing Charters via Yelpphoto - Skyline Fishing Charters via Yelp
 photo - Skyline Fishing Charters via Yelpphoto - Skyline Fishing Charters via Yelp
and
'the official legal limit'
photo - Steve K via Angler Charters via Yelp
A 2018 View
by photographer Chris Cullen Another 2018 View
by photographer Sven Brogen 
a Flickr view by B Hogy
The Guardian 
of the Harbor
photos me - Garry Albrecht
Winter Belmont Harbor 
in 2022
photographer - Pat Cummings
via Pictures of Chicago/Facebook
Post Notes:
Read the more on the historical timeline of events of the Mackinac Race. And track the race in real time.  

Please follow me to my next post called
Belmont Harbor Press

 Important Note:
These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!
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