Jarvis Beach Beach & Park
History
Jarvis Beach Park lies in the Rogers Park neighborhood, where Jarvis Avenue meets Lake Michigan. The street takes its name from R.J. Jarvis, a friend of the Rogers and Touhy families, who founded and subdivided Rogers Park. Jarvis Beach Park is among the 18 street-end beaches acquired by the Chicago Park District from the City of Chicago in 1959. The city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation was operating 27 such beaches by 1937; some of theses were in existence as early as 1921. Although lifeguards manned these small municipal beaches, they had no changing rooms or other facilities. In Rogers Park, the beaches met the summertime recreational needs of the many residents who lived in the numerous apartment buildings built in the eastern portion of the community between 1900 and 1930.