Lake Michigan Park
| now Pere Marquette Park |
| Muskegon, MI |
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 Lake Michigan Park was a destination
point located on the far western edge of
the city, on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Owned and operated by the
Muskegon Traction and Lighting, the operators of
the city's trolley service, it opened in 1890. The first building
on the site was a pavilion. Due to its popularity, it was expanded
in 1892. |
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Over time, a number of additional structures were
built. A comfort pavilion, offering a lunch counter and picnic area greeted
passengers at the entrance to the park, was located a short distance
from today's Bluffton School. A second pavilion located on the beach
offered a bath house and decking to allow visitors to relax and enjoy
the sights and sounds of the lake. As the area's popularity grew over the years, a number of other features were added to the park. |
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In 1898, a theater,
seating over 600 patrons, was added onto the beach pavilion to
compliment "the finest bathing beach on the Great
Lakes." It was a huge success, attracting top flight
performers and large crowds to the area.
In 1903, a larger theater pavilion, designed to accommodate
an audience of 1,200 on the upper level was built. A crowd
of over 4,000 celebrated the opening in July. The
building featured a restaurant and bowling alley on the lower level.
Around 1905, a large Dancing Pavilion was built, followed by a figure-eight roller coaster and other amusements and rides
in 1907. In 1913, a 100-foot Ferris wheel was
added. Lying in the shadow of a huge sand dune known at Pigeon Hill, the insulated area, featuring cool summer breezes was advertised as both "the Coney Island of the West" and "the Riviera of the Midwest." Summer cottages sprouted up in the surrounding Bluffton, Edgewater and Port Sherman areas. |
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| A figure-eight roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, the Roll-Away Rink skating rink, and a miniature passenger train were among the treats available to visitors at Muskegon's first amusement park. | |||||
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From a 1908 publication of the Muskegon Chamber of Commerce,
highlighting "the advantages of spending the summer season of your
vacation in and around Muskegon." Lake Michigan Park is a natural forest skirting a broad, sandy beach. The majesty of the grand old oaks, murmuring together in the breeze, overshadows the dancing waves laughing in the sunlight and singing as they break upon the sand. As far as the eye can reach, the billows are rolling in and breaking in long lines of foam upon the beach. Out on the blue, the sails of ships and the smoke of steamers mark the path of commerce on Lake Michigan. Lining the beach, and connected by the board walk, are a roller coaster, restaurants, dancing hall, ice cream parlors, candy and fruit stores, oriental bazaar, band stand, theatre, bath pavilion, bowling alleys, curio stores, and other amusement features. At night time, thousands of electric lights transform the Park into a fairyland. |
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| In 1914, the theater pavilion was badly damaged by lake erosion, and the building was razed after World War I. Built around 1905, winter storms damaged the Dance Pavilion building, and it was removed in the spring of 1930. | |||||
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| Photo from the Ray Carlson Collection | |||||
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| A beach town on the West Michigan Pike of the Dixie Highway, the water was always an attraction in Muskegon. The largest city on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, the city numbered 34,000 residents in 1915. |
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| The changing tastes of Americans, would alter the look of the beach area in the coming years. The growing popularity of the automobile, and the resulting decline in interest in the streetcar as a form of transportation, would lead to the decline in attendance at the park. |  |
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| In 1919, Muskegon witnessed a street car riot,
brought on by a fare increase. Jitney
buses, which charged a lower fare for a more comfortable ride,
ultimately brought an end to streetcar service in Muskegon. Ultimately, ownership of the area transferred from Muskegon Lighting and Traction to the Pere Marquette Railroad. In 1926, the first of two "Sunset Ovals" replaced the amusements at the beach. A second was added the following year. On August 3, 1927, the railroad granted ownership of the property to the City of Muskegon and construction began on a new breakwater. In 1929, streetcar service to Lake Michigan Park ceased. Lease on park buildings expired in early 1930, and the old wooden structures on the property were were removed. A brick pavilion and bath house was added on the beach. |
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| In 1937, a
camping near the channel that connects Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan
was added to the park, and became a popular past time. In 1938, railroad
tracks that had led to the beach were removed, and construction of a
lakeshore cut-off was constructed, changing the route used by to access
Pere Marquette Park. Playground equipment was added to the beach in the
1940s. Camping at the beach ended in 1951, replaced by public picnic grounds. The Ovals played host to various music events and teen dances in the 1950s and 60s In 1969, additional beachfront was purchased by the city. Today, Pere Marquette is renown for its acres of open beachfront and stunning sunsets. The northern most end of 2.5 miles of city-owned waterfront, it remains an natural gem, open year-round for use by the public. |
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 Construction on the Breakwater at Pere Marquette was started in 1927 and completed in 1933. |
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| Jim Coscarelli's Concessions opened at the park in 1948 and remained a popular summer hot sport in the 1950's and 1960s. | A view of the beach taken in the 1940s. | ||||
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A trailer park was added to Pere Marquette Park in 1937, and remained a popular attraction until 1951, when it was replaced with picnic ground today known as Margaret Drake Elliott Park. |
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Lifeguards still worked the stands at Pere
Marquette during the 1960s and 1970s. Cruising the Ovals to see
and be seen was still the thing to do for high school and college kids
during a hot summer night or in the fall after a football game. Today, the beach remains a popular destination. The acres of sugar sand and the open expanses entice visitors to one of the cleanest beaches in the United States. |
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The Channel at Pere Marquette |
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| Lying just to the north of the beach area is the harbor entrance, comprised of the Muskegon's light houses, the break wall, and the channel that connects Lake Michigan to Muskegon Lake. Historically, it has served as the entry point for sailing vessels of all sizes, passenger, recreational and freight, as well as a stunning backdrop for memories of time spent at the lake. | |||||
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| Once the port of entry for the great Goodrich steamers of the 1910s and 1920s, Muskegon Lake served as home to the Milwaukee Clipper and s.s. Aquarama. Today it serves ferry passengers aboard the Lake Express. | |||||
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| The new Life Saving Station, later known as the Coast Guard Station, opened in 1915. | |||||
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The Lighthouses at Muskegon
LIGHT HOUSE WORK - Considerable work has been done by
the light house department during the summer. A light house has been
completed at Buffalo |
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Special thanks to Mary Anderson and Sherry Coffman for their
assistance in assembling the information and images that appears on this page. |
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