Could The Calumet Park Beach House Crumble Into Lake Michigan?

EAST SIDE — On Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, flanked by Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare the city's lakefront a national disaster area.

Lake Michigan has gobbled beaches in Rogers Park, devoured lakefront paths near Hyde Park and crumbled sea walls near lakefront high-rises in South Shore. City officials estimate that the combination of powerful winter storms and record-breaking lake levels have already caused more than $25 million in damage, a burden too big for the City of Big shoulders alone.

"While the City has worked extensively, over the past few months to respond to the damage and to secure the infrastructure and beaches along our lake front - it is clear that this is a challenge we can't solve alone. ... We have declared disaster status to ensure Chicago receives the supports needed for addressing the scope of this issue for the long term," Lightfoot said. "We remain committed to working with all stakeholders at the state and federal level in order to protect and preserve this vital piece of Chicago’s landscape.”

While the disappearance of beaches in Rogers Park, devoured lakefront paths near Hyde Park and damages sea walls have gotten the most attention, city and Chicago Park District officials are still trying to determine the extent of erosion damage and which sections of the lakeshore that are at risk.

The Calumet Park Beach House, built to open in 1962 by Artistic Stone Company for $213,000, has taken a beating this winter.

Drone video, shot in August as part of the park district's shoreline assessment and strategic plan, shows that lake levels at Calumet Park Beach had already reached the beach house steps. Only sandy corners of the beach remained above the water line.

On Friday morning, Chicago's southernmost beach near the Indiana border was completely underwater.

Metal railings and the concrete patio near the concession stands were covered in ice.

A wooden platform attached to the beach house steps, heavy with ice, leaned toward the lake.

A section of lakefront path near the beach house had succumbed to sink holes created when waves washed away sandy soil beneath the concrete sidewalk.

Could the Calumet Park beach house face a similar fate?

A park district spokesman didn't have a clear answer on Friday.

Park district crews and contractors are currently assessing which sections of the shoreline need the most urgent attention, he said, and Calumet Beach is part of that effort.