North Lake Shore Drive has a fascinating history.  Conceived as a pleasure drive at the Lake Michigan end of Lincoln Park, the Drive was built in stages between the 1870s and late 1950s. The lakefront boulevard continued to develop and expand along with the adjacent park which grew to become a 1200-acre green space.  Throughout the Twentieth Century, the drive and adjacent streets became increasingly fashionable places to live.  As a result, fine residences rose along the north lakefront including spacious single-family homes and row houses, and luxury apartments and apartment hotels. 

In this presentation, Julia Bachrach, author of The City in a Garden: A History of Chicago’s Parks will share what she learned from a recent intensive study on the fascinating history of North Lake Shore Drive’s architecture, landscapes, and residents.

Julia S. Bachrach is an award-winning author, historian, preservationist, and urban planner. She served as historian and planning supervisor to the Chicago Park District for more than two decades. Her books also include Inspired by Nature: The Garfield Park Conservatory and Chicago’s West Side.  She contributed essays to AIA Guide to Chicago Architecture, Oxford Companion to the Garden, Midwestern Landscape Architecture, and Encyclopedia of Chicago.