The Foster Beach area is home to more than 600 rock carvings on the limestone blocks that line the shore. This page features a selection of the 200 or so carvings that run from the north end of Foster Beach to Osterman Beach at Hollywood Avenue, and the best of the about 400 carvings that start at the south end of Foster Beach and stretch a bit less than a mile to the Montrose Dog Beach.
The carvings north of the beach are among the easiest to see along the Chicago waterfront. The concrete deck at the base of the limestone stepstones is in relatively good condition. That means little or no climbing or dodging holes is required to view all but a few carvings. The stretch of revetments south of Foster is in relatively good condition, though the concrete deck between the limestone blocks and the water, poured in 1944, is in very bad shape. Most of the carvings are on the top rank of rocks and can be easily viewed without climbing, however, as can those on the second rank. Several carvings are on the vertical rock faces and some climbing is required to see these.
Click on the map images below to view maps that are both interactive (click on a carving description to see an image) or downloadable for printing. Below the maps are sequential galleries of the carvings, running north to south.
Foster Beach North Rock Carvings Gallery
From the southeast corner of Osterman Beach to the north end of Foster Beach
Foster Beach South Rock Carvings Gallery
From the south end of Foster Beach to the Montrose Dog Beach
Find lakefront carvings by location.