The section of Chicago’s shoreline that abuts Morgan Shoal in Hyde Park is home to more than 1,100 rock carvings made over the last 90+ years by mostly anonymous creators. These include the city’s earliest dated carvings, back to 1930.
This stretch of shore, from around Hyde Park Boulevard to 45th Street, is also the most deteriorated, with the old limestone revetments that once protected the parkland in a state of disrepair or, in some places, disappearance.
But hundreds of carvings are still findable by the intrepid searcher, at least for now. The city has funded a major reconstruction of the shore in this area that will expand the parkland but puts the carvings at risk. Current project plans include reuse of around 400 of the limestone blocks that host the carvings. Preservation of carvings, when possible, is explicitly in the plan. However, many of the finest carvings are on odd shaped and damaged rocks, and even full-size blocks may prove impossible to relocate in-tact. So the carvings as a whole remain at risk.
Click here to download a set of PDF maps showing the locations of the most interesting of the Morgan Shoal carvings — around 700 of them. Or scroll down to view a gallery of the same carvings.
If you do use the map to visit the carvings in person, please keep in mind that conditions along Morgan Shoal can be hazardous, with debris and tumbled rocks along most of its length.
That said, Morgan Shoal, in particular the section known as Pebble Beach, has inspired the passion of a number of advocates who hope to influence the city project. It is important to maintain accessibility to the lake along the length of the new park — and to preserve at least some of the artwork that has appeared here spontaneously over the last century. You can follow their activities at this Facebook page.
The first map of six displays the relative concentrations of carvings along Morgan Shoal. The geocoding for the photo icons is not precise, but they indicate locations within several feet. The blue digits approximate the number of sculpture-bearing blocks around that spot. The number of actual carvings is usually greater, since one block can host multiple carvings.
The maps feature the most interesting carvings along the shore, starting at the southern end. Each carving of note is represented by a short label describing its subject.
Click the image below to download the finder maps for Morgan Shoal carvings. They are printable and also interactive. Clicking on a carving in the pdf will link to a photo.
Morgan Shoal Carving Gallery
Find lakefront carvings by location.
You can find more background about Morgan Shoal in this 2021 article.
For more information about the lakefront carvings generally, please click here.