The Aquatorium at Marquette Park – Gary, IN

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OVERVIEW

An Aquatorium defines a place where one goes to view water.  The word was invented by the Society for the Restoration of the Gary Aquatorium and Octave Chanute’s Place in History.  (Whew, that’s a mouthful!)  They created this new word because this facility was formerly known as the Gary Bathhouse and also the Gary Bathing Beach and the society wanted to try to move away from the bathhouse image.

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The front of the Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium.
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Going up to the second level.
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A view out the front overlooks Marquette Park.
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A view down the breezeway to the promised water view beyond.
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A view of Lake Michigan from the upper floor of the Aquatorium.
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Sand dune with Lake Michigan in the distance.
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Each pillar is topped with lovely flowers.
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Opened in 1922 and closed in 1971, it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

A MONUMENT TO OCTAVE CHANUTE

As if a hundred year old bathhouse isn’t interesting enough, this building also stands as a monument to Octave Chanute.  Octave flew the world’s first aeronautically designed glider from a dune just west of the building in 1896.  Wait a minute, is that actually before the successful Wright Brothers flight in Kitty Hawk in 1903?  It sure was!

The publicity generated by Octave’s glider experiments prompted the Wright Brothers to contact him and he became their mentor and advisor.  Octave was also the first person the Wright Brothers contacted after their successful flight!  Octave Chanute is considered the grandfather of flight.

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Octave and a replica of his glider.
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Statue of Octave Chanute pointing west to the dune he took flight on.
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Plaque for the statue.
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Informational board.

A MONUMENT TO TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

In addition to honoring Octave, this facility is also a remembrance to the Tuskegee Airmen whose heroics in World War II led to the racial integration of the armed forces.  In 1941 the American military did not want the Tuskegee Airmen to fly.  But, fly they did.  By the end of the war in 1945, the only ones who regret that decision were the defeated Nazi’s.  In 1948 President Truman ordered the ending of racial segregation in the Armed Forces.

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A Tuskegee Airman and a plane like they flew.
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Statue of a Tuskegee Airman.
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Plaque for the statue.

WATER VIEWS

The whole point of the Aquatorium is to view the water and it did not disappoint.  During the sunny day with blue skies the water was amazing blue and had some lovely touches of light teal.  It really reminded me of tropical water and not at all what I expected from Lake Michigan.  We came back in the evening for the sunset but there was an event happening on the upper viewing level so I wandered down to the sand dunes and beach and watched the sun set from there.

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The Chicago skyline in the distance.
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A boat out enjoying the beautiful weather.
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Sunset on the beach.
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Chicago at the golden hour.
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Chicago with the sunset.
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The last glimpse of the sun.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend taking some time to visit Marquette Park and the Aquatorium.  The park was free to get in to and if you can find parking along the street near the Aquatorium that is also free.  If you park in the lot next to it, there is a small fee.  The park is quite large with lots of green space, beach access and even some lakes and ponds we saw kayakers and fisherpeeps at.  I hope you enjoyed this neat piece of history!  Leave a comment below and let me know what you thought.