GoldCoast-02

By Ashland Thomas

Piece description from the artist

Oak Street Beach | Lake Shore Drive | Gold Coast | Chicago

Oak Street Beach had very meager beginnings in the 1870's as Chicago expanded north and wealthy land owners occupied lake front property giving them prime waterfront access. During this time, the shoreline needed major renovation to repair and restore damage caused by storms & erosion. The wealthiest of the city banded together to modernize Lake Michigan and the coastline in this blossoming district and develop Lake Shore Drive from the new Astor Street District to Ohio Street, just north of the Chicago River. By the 1920's, Oak Street Beach had become the playground of the elite. The Chicago Park District was formed in 1934 and has continued to keep the beach relevant and protected in modern times.

The Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago was originally named the Astor Street District and emerged out of the shadows of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Potter Palmer, a major influencer of the elite and one of the wealthiest businessmen in the city, was the first to leave behind the ashes surrounding the Prairie Avenue District and create a desirable plot of land in swampland at the northern edge of the city. The wealthiest of Chicago followed suit and quickly developed the area into one of the most desirable addresses in America. The Gold Coast was the second wealthiest neighborhood in the United States behind Manhattan's Upper East Side until the 1990's. It is currently the seventh wealthiest neighborhood in the country and boasts iconic wealth symbols such as the original Playboy Mansion, The Drake Hotel, Astor Street Row Houses, gaslight street lamps, designer boutiques, and iconic homes and landscapes from some of the country's top architects.