Chicago: Lake Calumet and Wolf Lake

Chicago103 · #1 Posted: **May 9, 2012, 4:38 PM**

These are city photos only in the most technical sense. This is a rather small thread and I hope to do a much more extensive thread of this very unusual corner of the city in the near future. These are photos that I took last summer. There actually isn't a single human being seen and no residential buildings within sight in these pictures, that captures the surreal isolation some of these areas have, you know you are in Chicago city limits but there is no one around, you can hear the ambient noise of expressways in the distance but aside from that you are totally alone.

north shore of Lake Calumet

country road in Chicago along north shore of Lake Calumet

This land is actually on the southern end of a golf course that goes to the north shore of the lake.

vacant land near the northwestern shore of the lake

Everything between here and those huge grain elevators is vacant open fields. It is technically owned by the Illinois International Port but it just hundreds of acres of vacant land right next an Interstate (94) in a city of 2.7 million people.

Now on to the Wolf Lake area. These next few pictures are of an abandoned Nike Missile base and surrounding area just to the north of Wolf Lake.

Look closely and you can see a deer in this picture.

Here is the northern shore of Wolf Lake, across with the transmissions lines and interstate 90 is Indiana.

Interstate 90 across a narrow segment of Wolf Lake, this was taken slightly inside the state of Indiana.

Small Illinois/Indiana border marker on the northern shore of Wolf Lake

emathias · #2 Posted: **May 9, 2012, 5:51 PM**

Man, you'd think you were in central Indiana or something.

Centropolis · #3 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 12:10 AM**

Interesting...were you down there for work, noticed the ground water monitoring well...

ardecila · #4 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 1:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

Interesting...were you down there for work, noticed the ground water monitoring well...

Is that what that is? Curious.

STLgasm · #5 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 1:14 AM**

Awesome.

bnk · #6 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 1:30 AM**

Most all of it in the city limits believe it or not.

I wish it could have been dredged and turned into an international deepwater port.

Thanks for the pictures this part of the city has always intrigued me .

untitledreality · #7 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 1:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnk

I wish it could have been dredged and turned into an international deepwater port.

Is the Saint Lawrence even capable of moving such ships? I dont think it is.

bnk · #8 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 2:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by untitledreality

Is the Saint Lawrence even capable of moving such ships? I dont think it is.

They would have to be expanded,

the largest locks IIRC is the Soo Locks linking Superior to the Michigan-Huron.

They are expanding the Panama canal locks, our new locks should match the post Panamax dimentions.

ChrisLA · #9 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 9:29 PM**

Looking at these photos make me only think about how the bugs would eat me alive if I was to walk through this vegetation.

Steely Dan · #10 Posted: **May 10, 2012, 9:44 PM**

to 99% of chicago residents, these pics might as well be from the other side of the planet. truly a rarely seen and virtually unknown section of the city.

in my 3 and half decades of living here, i've only gone exploring around the wastelands of lake calumet once. and i only know of wolf lake from driving across it on the indiana toll road.

thanks for posting.

the pope · #11 Posted: **May 14, 2012, 3:27 PM**

never actually been down there, thanks for showing me.