Secret Northwest Indiana: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

by Joseph S. Pete

Overview

Where in the landlocked state of Indiana can you sunbathe on a beach in the shadow of hulking steel mills, surf by an oil refinery or scuba-dive to see old shipwrecks?
A blend of Indiana and neighboring Chicago, Northwest Indiana is a one-of-a-kind place filled with wonders like Frank Lloyd Wright homes and a hike USA Today described as one of the country’s most scenic. And behind its unique “coastal” setting lie some equally intriguing hidden gems and untold stories.
Secret Northwest Indiana: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure leads a whirlwind tour of the Calumet Region that extends from Chicago’s far South Side, through the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana, and into Southwest Michigan. Read about a submarine inventor who sailed under Lake Michigan and the free-spirited Diana of the Dunes who inspired preservation efforts that led to the Indiana Dunes National Park. Explore hidden NIKE missile silos, bygone ski jumps, secret spots to photograph the jets taking off for the Chicago Air and Water Show and the infamous Marriage Mill where celebrities flocked to get divorced. Prepare for singing porta-potties, tree graveyards and other strangeness. Local author and journalist Joseph S. Pete gives you a look behind the curtain in a region you might think you already know well. With his stories and tips, you’ll find no shortage of new secret places to explore in Northwest Indiana.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681063669
Publisher:	Reedy press, LLC.
Publication date:	04/15/2022
Series:	Secret Series
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.10(d)

About the Author

Region native Joseph S. Pete writes for the Times of Northwest Indiana, a job that’s taken him all around the South Shore. The author of Lost Hammond, Indiana and 100 Things to Do in Gary and Northwest Indiana Before You Die, Pete is a frequent guest on Lakeshore Public Radio and has twice as many first names as the average person. His many accolades include Peter Lisagor Awards, Society of Professional Journalists Awards, and a calculator he won at a Hammond Civic Center circus raffle.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction 1

Where John Dillinger Escaped from Jail 2

Diana of the Dunes's Old Stomping Grounds 4

Shipwreck at the Bottom of Lake Michigan 6

Submarines Under Lake Michigan 8

Belle Gunness Exhibit 10

Ecology's Birthplace 12

Mount Baldy 14

Tree Graveyards 16

Roy Boy's Badlands 18

Marriage Mill 20

Indiana Dunes 22

An Architectural Landmark 24

The Great Escape from the Brown Mansion 26

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes 28

Nike Missile Bases 30

A Communion with Craft Beer 32

Meyer's Castle 34

One of the Most Scenic Trails in America 36

Octave Chanute, Grandfather of Flight 38

The Frost House, a Temple of 1960s Style 40

SS Eastland Disaster 42

Community Veterans Memorial, One of Northwest Indiana's Seven Wonders 44

Frank Dudley's Duneland 46

The Hoosier Slide 48

The Sparkle House 50

Southernmost Point of Lake Michigan 52

Cacti in Indiana 54

City West, the New Chicago That Could Have Been 56

Mount Trashmore and the Lost Marsh 58

The Jingle Johns 60

Burn 'Em Brewing's Creamed Corn Beer 62

The Region Goes to the Movies 64

Straddling the Illinois-Indiana State Line 66

Gary Demon House 68

Highland Heron Rookery 70

City as Canvas: Graffiti Art in Gary 72

Purdue Northwest Sculpture Parks 74

Brincka Cross Gardens 76

Taxidermy Mountain at Cabela's 78

Artesian Well 80

The Grande Pollution of the Grand Calumet River 82

Ford Hangar in Lansing 84

Nelson Algren Pocket Park 86

Rensselaer Art Walk 106

City Methodist Church 108

Wall of Crap at Screaming Monkey Comics 110

Giant Hobo Outside Ruben's Restaurant 112

Surfing by an Oil Refinery 114

The Bailly Homestead at Indiana Dunes National Park 116

Ideal Section of Highway 118

Barker Mansion Blackout Tour 120

Thomas Edison's Old Office 122

Candy Cane Lane 124

New Year's Eve Pierogi Drop 126

Fighter Jet Off the Oak Savannah Trail 128

Grave of Oscar Mayer's Little Oscar 130

Florida Tropical House 132

Jackson Family Tribute at Hard Rock Casino 134

Edison Concept Houses 136

Nudist Clubs 138

Former POW Camp at Sweet Woods 140

Grant Street Marsh 142

Michael Jordan Mural 144

Beverly Shores Depot Museum and Art Gallery 146

Ogden Dunes Ski Jump 148

Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park 150

The Ruins of Long-Abandoned Steel Mills 152

Golden Age Cedar Lake at the Museum at Lassen's Resort 154

1955 Whiting Standard Oil Refinery Explosion 156

Pinhook Bog in Indiana Dunes National Park 158

Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso 160

Homeless Jesus at Valparaiso University 162

Midwest Rail Ranger History Tour 164

Kingsbury Ordnance Plant in La Porte 166

Electric Car Prototype at La Porte Historical Society Museum 168

Josephus Wolf House 170

St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Calumet City 172

Chicago Air and Water Show Staging Grounds 174

Hidden Fishing Pier at an International Port 176

Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum 178

No-Can-Do Pond at Sunset Hill Farm Park 180

Pullman National Monument 182

Calumet City Smiley Face Water Towers 184

Coffee Creek Watershed Nature Preserve 186

Schrage Mansion and Lourdes Grotto 188

A Christmas Story's Flick Forever Licking a Flagpole at the Indiana Welcome Center 190

Sources 192

Index 199