Viewing Deck

At its height in the late 1800s, Chicago Harbor and its surrounding waters was the most dangerous place in the Great Lakes. More sailors and vessel passengers lost their lives along Chicago's shoreline than anywhere else in the region. Here, boats were exposed to the fury of northern winds and violent waves driven across the full 300 miles of the lake. But it wasn't the weather alone that made Chicago so treacherous. As one of the busiest ports in the world, Chicago Harbor drew thousands of schooners, canal boats, and steam engines to the City of Broad Shoulders each year. The high traffic made it difficult to navigate the harbor in even the best conditions. Chicago's shipping history is filled with stories of vessels that crashed into breakwaters, were torn to splinters by crashing waves, or collided with other boats.

On a windy morning in May of 1894, Chicago residents awoke to newspaper headlines telling the shocking stories of some of these wrecks. A massive storm the day before had wrecked eight schooners, more than any other day in Chicago history. Among the wrecks was the ill-fated Myrtle. The little two-masted schooner had been riding out the storm near the Chicago Harbor when another boat slammed into her. As Myrtle took on water, the storm pushed her south along the lakefront. Several boats were sent out to rescue Myrtle's six-man crew, but the dangerous water forced them back to shore. One of these, a boat operated by the Chicago Lifesaving Station was overturned, leaving its would-be rescuers also in need of saving. Stranded beyond the reach of help, the crew of the Myrtle was washed overboard and drowned. She finally sunk off of 35th street, about 5 miles south of Navy Pier.