History of Marquette Park

History of Marquette Park. 100th Anniversary of Marquette Park, 1919-2019. , In 13,000 BC the shoreline of Lake Michigan was several miles south of this marker, at what is now Ridge Road. As the lake receded over the centuries the shoreline inched north to where you are standing. In 1675 Jesuit explorer Father Marquette noted in one of his last journal entries that this spot was the most beautiful he'd ever seen, abundant in animal and plant life and natural beauty., In 1906 U.S. Steel, then the largest corporation in the world, created Gary Works, the largest steel mill in existence, just west of this spot. Superintendent William P. Gleason desired to establish a park close by for workers. The Town of Miller and the City of Gary also envisioned a park, wanting to use a three-mile stretch of water-logged land along the lake. Control of the area was disputed by Gary, Miller, US. Steel and prominent Lake Street Beach landowner, Drusilla Carr, who fought relentlessly to retain ownership of her property. Efforts to create the park were stymied for a decade but were finally rewarded when Gary annexed Miller and U.S. Steel purchased 116 acres to be donated to Gary in 1919, setting the stage for the first phase of what was known as Lake Front Part., The Gary Bathhouse was opened in June 1922 followed by the Marquette Park Pavilion two years later. Lake Front Park was renamed Marquette Park in 1923 and a Statue of Father Marquette was erected in June 1932. The remaining acreage that included Lake Street Beach was added to the Park in 1940, ten years after the death of Drusilla Carr.