Waukegan, Bathhouses
After photographing some Victorian area homes located in the historic district of Waukegan, IL, I took a coffee break and headed northeast to Illinois Beach State Park in Zion. Located on Lake Michigan, this park and nature preserve extends roughly 7 miles on the shore and has beaches, sand dunes, forests and marshes. Located just north of the decommissioned Zion nuclear reactor, it sits like an oasis of beautiful nature in an otherwise deprived urban setting. Only a few minutes into my coffee break/walk did I come across these amazing abandoned bathhouses. What caught my immediate attention was the obvious mid-century modern style and design. An educated guess would place the original construction somewhere in the 1930s-1940s when this style was most common and popular. Ultra-contemporary for their time, and built for functionality (and to last), they have an almost futuristic look, further enhanced by the design of the unusual rooftop antennas.
