On Marquette Drive at Oak Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Marquette Drive.
A French Jesuit Priest. One of the earliest Christian teachers of the American Indians landed here AD 1673 in company with the French explorer Louis Joliet. — — Map (db m226864) HM
Near Oak Avenue west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
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 . . . — — Map (db m236264) HM
On Oak Avenue west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
World's largest freshwater sand dunes in the world line the southern shores of Lake Michigan.
5th largest lake in the world and largest lake in Indiana.
Over 3,500 ships and planes lay at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
You are . . . — — Map (db m226866) HM
Near Oak Avenue west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
Of the estimated 1,500 shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, there are 14(*) within Indiana waters. Two lie offshore of Gary. They are identified only as "Unknown 5" and "Unknown 6."
"Unknown 5 and 6" have been identified by archeologists as barges . . . — — Map (db m226863) HM
On Oak Avenue, 0.2 miles west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
In 1941 the American military did not want the Tuskegee Airmen to fly. By May 8, 1945, the end of World War II in Europe, only the Nazis felt that way.
The heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen led to President Truman's 1948 order ending racial . . . — — Map (db m227759) HM WM
This is to certify that Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on the 25th day of November 1994 by the United States Department of the Interior in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Natural . . . — — Map (db m226861) HM
On Oak Avenue, 1 mile west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
The figure of Octave Chanute is pointing toward the dune where, in July of 1896, he conducted his famous experiments with gliders. These experiments had a dramatic impact on the history of aviation. The publicity generated by the experiments . . . — — Map (db m227824) HM
On Oak Avenue west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
Octave Chanute arrived at Miller Beach, Gary, Indiana on June 22, 1896 to perform gliding flight experiments in the dunes just west of this site. Over 700 successful flights provided him with significant aerodynamic data.
Chanute willingly . . . — — Map (db m227760) HM
On Oak Avenue, 1 mile west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
The glider you see above you and to your left was designed by Octave Chanute, whose statue you see on your right. In June of 1896 (ten years before Gary, Indiana was founded), Chanute, a leading civil engineer, came across Lake Michigan from . . . — — Map (db m227829) HM
On Oak Avenue west of Montgomery Street, on the right when traveling west.
Octave Chanute, a French-born engineer, is celebrated for his pioneering aviation experiments here on the dunes of Lake Michigan. He was an innovator for railroads as well.
He designed wood and iron trestle bridges for some of the most . . . — — Map (db m227830) HM
Near Oak Avenue north of Marquette Drive, on the right when traveling south.
For decades people have enjoyed strolling the bridges to Patterson Island. The small island located in the Grand Calumet Lagoon was enhanced for access during the Great Depression through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). . . . — — Map (db m226859) WM
On Oak Avenue at North Grand Boulevard, on the left when traveling south on Oak Avenue.
Marquette Pavilion, built in 1924, is an example of prairie-style architecture.
Can you find these features that are emblematic of this style?
• Strong geometry and massing
• Horizontal and vertical lines
• Brick or stucco exteriors . . . — — Map (db m227758) HM
