Resources
Why does Morgan Shoal need revetment?
In 2014-2015, members of the community and the Chicago Park District held four meetings and developed together the Morgan Shoal Framework Plan. Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point are the only sections of the 1993 Chicago Shoreline Protection Plan not completed. Both Morgan Shoal and the Point are endangered as the City (CDOT), Chicago Park District and Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now funded for design and construction. Both Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point ought to be preserved under the 1993 Memorandum of Agreement, and not demolished and replaced with concrete as planned.
A short overview of the project as the Public Building Commission has proposed it with the US Army Corps of Engineers is here. You can also find FAQs and slide decks from past community meetings on this page.
Reading more:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/05/20/alison-cuddy-promontory-point-is-crumbling-under-a-fierce-lake-michigan-slow-water-fixes-may-be-critical/
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo161589950.html
Fun historical photos:
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10663.html
https://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/v40k99q/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/51st-street-beach-in-the-1950s--267049452884888453/
http://openwaterchicago.com/charles-cushman-photography/
Chicago Tribune Underwater video of Chicago's Morgan Shoal: An Underwater Oasis by Greg Lane
Additional articles:
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/an-endangered-piece-of-history-beneath-lake-michigans-surface/
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3713.html
https://uhighmidway.com/12426/chicagolife/erosion-and-repairs-chicagos-old-lakefront-is-disappearing/
Read more about Public Building Commission (PBC) slide decks here.
Memorandum of Agreement for the Illinois Shoreline Erosion Interim 3 Project
This document dated 1993 has been debated as to whether it’s out of date. The Promontory Point Conservancy states that it is still in effect. It states clearly in paragraph 2a that the new revetment must match what we have now to follow historic preservation guidelines. The Morgan Shoal Framework Plan is a continuation of this agreement and should be held to the same standard. This is a short document, worth reading in full.
City of Chicago :: Lakefront-Shoreline
The Office of Budget and Management Lakefront Shoreline page describing the work proposal and the $194 million devoted to it. You need to click the box “View More Information” to see the Lakefront-Shoreline Programmatic Summary and budgetary information.
Morgan Shoal Framework Plan
Currently the seminal document underlying their current plans, developed after 3 community meetings in 2014 with a small group, and published in 2015. Referred to in public meetings as a “kind of blueprint” which will be “updated” as the Army Corps sees fit. We don’t consider this equivalent to robust community input in 2023.
Slide deck on the Public Building Commission 2024 updated construction plans
This is the initial offering the Army Corps, Park District, Public Building Commission, and Chicago Dept. of Transportation presented to the community at their first public meeting, 2/22/24
Hyde Park Herald 3/5/24 Marc Monaghan report on Morgan Shoal City meeting Feb. 22, 2024 held by the PBC, USACE, CPD, CDOT, and Smith Group
Hyde Park Herald 3/27/24 Marc Monaghan, on the 2nd community mtg held 3/21/24 by the PBC and associated city agencies
Featured Capital Projects | Chicago Park District
The Park District website has a page for projects. Scroll down to Projects in Design to click on the Morgan Shoal information. It is updated, showing construction start in 4th qtr. 2024.
Please note a feedback form at the bottom of the Morgan Shoal page – we would love it if hundreds of people fill this out. Tell the Park District what you love about this area.
Biological Survey of Morgan Shoal, Chicago
The Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum studied the biodiversity of the shoal in 2016. There is a link to the full report, authored by Phil Willink, which details the habitat Morgan Shoal provides (and what we need to preserve): “ A bedrock outcrop with horizontal and vertical surfaces, associated boulders and cobble that have broken off in places, and nearby patches of gravel and sand offers a variety of niches for a diversity of organisms to occupy.”
Block club Chicago article 3/25/24 by Maxwell Evans
Excellent summary after the 2nd community meeting on Morgan Shoal.
Hyde Park Herald 4/4/24 Marc Monaghan report on Promontory Point Press Conference
Report on a recent Press Conference held by the Promontory Point Conservancy, which presented a new engineering study that refutes the city’s claim that the limestone revetment has failed. This study, funded by community donations, shows that the reconstruction using existing materials will be cheaper, less environmentally damaging, and not require closing the entire Point during reconstruction, as it can be done in sections, and will give the Point another 89 years of use.
HydeParkHerald 6/4/2021
Article by Marc Monaghan summarizing the city’s process as of 2021. Friends of the Parks summed up our thoughts exactly: “FOTP supports efforts to mitigate shoreline erosion. But the particulars of this project seem not to have been well publicized and it seems to be moving forward too quickly to allow robust communication with and response from the community.”
Block Club Chicago July 19, 2021: Promontory Point’s Limestone Should be Fixed, Not Replaced This article is an overview of the issues and history of city and community proposals and the links between the proposed projects at Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point, though out of date.
In 2014-2015, members of the community and the Chicago Park District held four meetings and developed together the Morgan Shoal Framework Plan. Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point are the only sections of the 1993 Chicago Shoreline Protection Plan not completed. Both Morgan Shoal and the Point are endangered as the City (CDOT), Chicago Park District and Chicago Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now funded for design and construction. Both Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point ought to be preserved under the 1993 Memorandum of Agreement, and not demolished and replaced with concrete as planned.
A short overview of the project as the Public Building Commission has proposed it with the US Army Corps of Engineers is here. You can also find FAQs and slide decks from past community meetings on this page.
Reading more:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/05/20/alison-cuddy-promontory-point-is-crumbling-under-a-fierce-lake-michigan-slow-water-fixes-may-be-critical/
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo161589950.html
Fun historical photos:
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10663.html
https://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/chicagohistory/71/v40k99q/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/51st-street-beach-in-the-1950s--267049452884888453/
http://openwaterchicago.com/charles-cushman-photography/
Chicago Tribune Underwater video of Chicago's Morgan Shoal: An Underwater Oasis by Greg Lane
Additional articles:
https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/an-endangered-piece-of-history-beneath-lake-michigans-surface/
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3713.html
https://uhighmidway.com/12426/chicagolife/erosion-and-repairs-chicagos-old-lakefront-is-disappearing/
Read more about Public Building Commission (PBC) slide decks here.
Memorandum of Agreement for the Illinois Shoreline Erosion Interim 3 Project
This document dated 1993 has been debated as to whether it’s out of date. The Promontory Point Conservancy states that it is still in effect. It states clearly in paragraph 2a that the new revetment must match what we have now to follow historic preservation guidelines. The Morgan Shoal Framework Plan is a continuation of this agreement and should be held to the same standard. This is a short document, worth reading in full.
City of Chicago :: Lakefront-Shoreline
The Office of Budget and Management Lakefront Shoreline page describing the work proposal and the $194 million devoted to it. You need to click the box “View More Information” to see the Lakefront-Shoreline Programmatic Summary and budgetary information.
Morgan Shoal Framework Plan
Currently the seminal document underlying their current plans, developed after 3 community meetings in 2014 with a small group, and published in 2015. Referred to in public meetings as a “kind of blueprint” which will be “updated” as the Army Corps sees fit. We don’t consider this equivalent to robust community input in 2023.
Slide deck on the Public Building Commission 2024 updated construction plans
This is the initial offering the Army Corps, Park District, Public Building Commission, and Chicago Dept. of Transportation presented to the community at their first public meeting, 2/22/24
Hyde Park Herald 3/5/24 Marc Monaghan report on Morgan Shoal City meeting Feb. 22, 2024 held by the PBC, USACE, CPD, CDOT, and Smith Group
Hyde Park Herald 3/27/24 Marc Monaghan, on the 2nd community mtg held 3/21/24 by the PBC and associated city agencies
Featured Capital Projects | Chicago Park District
The Park District website has a page for projects. Scroll down to Projects in Design to click on the Morgan Shoal information. It is updated, showing construction start in 4th qtr. 2024.
Please note a feedback form at the bottom of the Morgan Shoal page – we would love it if hundreds of people fill this out. Tell the Park District what you love about this area.
Biological Survey of Morgan Shoal, Chicago
The Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum studied the biodiversity of the shoal in 2016. There is a link to the full report, authored by Phil Willink, which details the habitat Morgan Shoal provides (and what we need to preserve): “ A bedrock outcrop with horizontal and vertical surfaces, associated boulders and cobble that have broken off in places, and nearby patches of gravel and sand offers a variety of niches for a diversity of organisms to occupy.”
Block club Chicago article 3/25/24 by Maxwell Evans
Excellent summary after the 2nd community meeting on Morgan Shoal.
Hyde Park Herald 4/4/24 Marc Monaghan report on Promontory Point Press Conference
Report on a recent Press Conference held by the Promontory Point Conservancy, which presented a new engineering study that refutes the city’s claim that the limestone revetment has failed. This study, funded by community donations, shows that the reconstruction using existing materials will be cheaper, less environmentally damaging, and not require closing the entire Point during reconstruction, as it can be done in sections, and will give the Point another 89 years of use.
HydeParkHerald 6/4/2021
Article by Marc Monaghan summarizing the city’s process as of 2021. Friends of the Parks summed up our thoughts exactly: “FOTP supports efforts to mitigate shoreline erosion. But the particulars of this project seem not to have been well publicized and it seems to be moving forward too quickly to allow robust communication with and response from the community.”
Block Club Chicago July 19, 2021: Promontory Point’s Limestone Should be Fixed, Not Replaced This article is an overview of the issues and history of city and community proposals and the links between the proposed projects at Morgan Shoal and Promontory Point, though out of date.