The 57th Street Beach (5700 South) is located in Jackson Park, one of Chicago’s oldest and most significant parks. The renowned designers of New York’s Central Park, Olmsted & Vaux, laid out Jackson Park along with the adjacent Midway Plaisance and Washington Park in 1871. Their earliest park improvements included a beach composed of granite bricks at the location of what is now the 57th Street Beach. Considering that raw sewage was dumped into Lake Michigan at that time, it is not surprising that the beaches were used as paved drives for strolling or promenading, rather than wading or bathing. Improvement plans for Jackson Park after the Columbian Exposition included a sand beach. However, at this time, raw sewage was dumped right into Lake Michigan, and the lake was not considered a desirable place to wade or swim. The lakefront did not become a popular place for public bathing until 1899 when Chicago’s innovative Drainage Canal was complete. Since the turn of the century, the 57th Street Beach has been used by generations of Chicagoans. In 1993, the park district constructed a new comfort station for the beach, and beach-goers can enjoy the beautiful view of the skyline.