Sending out an S.O.S.

Save Our Beach House

The Beach house has been shuttered for over 20 years and is in serious disrepair. It is not just a structure. If we lose it, we lose a century shared memories. Moments by the lake. With your help it can become something new, reimagined for future generations.

Located on a natural terrace at the base of the bluff, the now shuttered beach house limits use of what is one of the most important features in the park. Redesigning the structure into an open pavilion offers visitors a place to bring lunch and enjoy the view of Lake Michigan short of walking the beach. Picture sitting on the terrace under an open pavilion with that view of Lake Michigan. The pavilion will offer a quiet place to enjoy lunch, listen to birds and the waves or take shelter in the rain.  

Local schools and community groups can use the pavilion as an outdoor classroom space for science education including ecology, biology, botany, chemistry, or instruction related to the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.

Park users with mobility issues are able to reach the beach terrace by way of the service road. For those who cannot manage the stone stairs that lead to the actual beach, the new pavilion offers a vastly improved way to experience Lake Michigan.

The Plan

An open-air beach shelter/pavilion will be constructed within the original footprint using the structural support features of the decommissioned bath house. As part of the renovation, the back west wall of the former bath house will remain.

The other three sides will be opened. A space will be set aside behind the west wall (toward the bluff) for the portable toilet that is used during the summer months. The handicap accessible portable toilet will be placed behind a wall not unlike what existed for the exterior changing areas, with adequate signage to direct visitors.

A structural engineer has determined the building is sound and a local architect has developed a plan that preserves the building’s WPA-era esthetics and fine joinery and adapts the building for the future. Do you remember when the park had lifeguards and the beach house was in use? Tell us Your Stories.

Project Estimated Cost: $175,000

In 2027 it will be the 100th anniversary of Dr. Joseph Schneider’s gift of his Fox Point Farm for use as a public park, a gift to “my fellow citizens” as stated in his will. In honor of the doctor, help give the Beach House new life. It’s time.

Donations $1,000 and above will be acknowledged on a donor plaque on the new pavilion.

Learn more about the history of the Beach House.