Talk:Chicago beaches

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[edit] Some Goals

This is a copy of the goals from the Chicago To Do List. Thought it would be helpful to replicate this here for discussion.

• Discuss in introduction natural movement of sand from north to south in Lake
• Give dates when beaches are guarded, May 15? to Sept 15?

The current beach guarding schedule is Memorial Day through Labor Day. I verified this by calling Chicago 311 service, at 312-744-5000, or simply, 311. However, can't find citation of this anywhere... They didn't know the times of operation during the day, however.

• List beaches from north to south
• So far there are only 24 beaches listed. Which ones are we missing?
• Add coordinates for each beach
• State which park each beach is a part of
• Add details for each major beach
• Photos (North Ave beachhouse, new Oak St restaurant, Volleyball courts, dog beach, etc.)

--Ilerne3 02:21, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Opinion

Looking at the Chicago Park District pages for some beaches, many beaches are within parks. The Beaches in Chicago page should focus on the beach with a link to a main article on the Beach and Park IMO. TonyTheTiger (talk/cont/bio) 20:04, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Requested move

This article has been renamed from Beaches in Chicago to Chicago beaches as the result of a move request. --Stemonitis 14:43, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DYK Candidates

The entire 3rd paragraph is chock full of DYK caliber information. We just need to add enough text to qualify for DYK. Candidates:

1. . . .that 29 of the 31 Beaches in Chicago are along the 28 mile Chicago, Illinois Lake Michigan lakefront shoreline that is entirely man-made.
2. . . .that the Chicago Lifeguard Service force that protects Chicago, IL visitors to the Beaches in Chicago is the largest of its kind in the nation.
3. . . .that the Beaches in Chicago, IL are part of the cleanest urban waterfront in the United States, and second in the world only to Stockholm.
4. . . . Winter storms erode some of the Beaches in Chicago, and deposit the sand on others, requiring the Chicago Park District to supplement tons of sand yearly.

Combinations of the above are welcome. TonyTheTiger (talk/cont/bio) 17:56, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Possibility

I think we have the nucleus of a Lakefront of Chicago article, which could be split off of the Beaches article. Much of the text of such an article is already available in the Water cribs, Navy Pier, Streeterville, Grant Park, Museum Campus, Burnham Park, Promontory Point and now the Beaches of Chicago articles. I just created a Jardine Water Purification Plant (the world's largest) which is looking kind of lonely right about now. Speciate 05:11, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

A Lakefront article could very well compliment this one without any removal of information from this article as I see it. Are lakefront/waterfront articles common for major cities? Should it be a separate article or a section of Chicago? TonyTheTiger (talk/cont/bio) 15:59, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I like the idea of this. Some things that would be helpful to add would be the Golf Course (forgot name), a lakefront sculpture section, the "chicago works out" course mention. Other sub-subjects for Lakefront: Northerly Island, Soldiers Field, Chicago Bears, Chicago Fire, Osaka Gardens, Theatre on the Lake woudl be some other items that might fit well...--Ilerne3 20:03, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some Suggestions

1. There is a reference in the arcicle to the beaches being a part of the CPD. However, it may be helpful to say that CPD manages 29 lakefront beaches;
2. Beach conditions link - a suggestion... I don't have a good grasp of what is tmi yet/still learning. See below. Swim Report
3. Average water temperatures?
4. beach open/close dates?
5. section that lists beach annual events either here or in lakefront article, such as Chicago Triathlon, Air and Water Show, Polar Plunge, etc. Alternatively, some of these can be added to the individual beaches, but still think a Beach Events section would be nice
6. some pictures of the individual beaches may be helpful. Or of beach use. I'll be happy to oblidge with some, and can possibly collect others or all of them some time this spring. Have bike, have camera, will travel.
7. big picture - what would it take to make this "featured article" or "good article" quality? I'll try to do an analysis of this unless someone else already did?
8. pedestrian bridges and access category with some pictures would be nice
9. link to nearby beach systems - Evanston, etc...
10. a link here or on lakefront to greatlakes.org

--Ilerne3 20:03, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

I would like to propose the following paragraph for beach usage information: It is possible to access the beaches year round. "The Park District beaches are guarded Memorial Day through Labor Day. After a heavy rain, the beaches frequently get closed due to high levels of toxic oranisms. Swim conditions, beach closure and further information can be obtained through the Chicago Park District Swim Report and through the Chicago 3-1-1 service." --Ilerne3 02:21, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Propose adding to the Oak Street Beach: This is the only beach in Chicago where swim lanes are marked during the swim season to direct swimmer traffic and help prevent people from swimming into other oncoming swimmers. The northbound swimmers swim in the far lane, the southbound swimmers swim close to the shore. The length of the designated swim area is approximately 1/2 a mile, and there is usually a marker at 400 meters during the swim season.

Propose adding to the North Ave Beach: The beach is the site of one or more annual, but unofficial Polar Plunges event every winter or spring, where hundreds of people gather to watch, and dozens actually brave the icy waters. While there is no official Polar Bear Club, the plunges are used to raise money for Special Olympics or to mark the start of a new year.

--Ilerne3 12:56, 28 March 2007 (UTC)