The Most Romantic City in Michigan, Saint Joseph has been a Chicagoland vacation destination for over a century. Now a modern lakeside resort centered in the Lake Michigan Wine Trail, “St. Joe” offers attractions to world explorers, honeymooners, and families seeking a getaway. However, the beach once brought carnival music, carousel horses, and Charleston dancers to the unique character of this quaint town.
In the early 1890s, the area was known for its scenic tours at the confluence of Lake Michigan and St. Joseph River. Spanning nearly fifteen miles from St. Joseph to Berrien Springs, these tours were provided by canoe, rowboat, and riverboat. Foreseeing the higher calling of tourism, boat livery owner Logan Drake looked to draw crowds to this unpopular beach area.
The name of Silver Beach was coined by Drake’s bride-to-be, Maude Schlenker. While courting, she stated that the water “shimmered like silver” during a moonlit walk. This inspired a new concept with Drake’s tourism aspirations.
In 1891, Drake and his partner Louis D. Wallace established the Silver Beach Amusement and Realty Company. Their intentions were to bring more people to their hometown. Initially, ten cottages were built along the beach as rentals for vacationers. Their gamble took root and grew throughout the years of Silver Beach. Eighty cottages were available when the park closed in 1971.
These early installations brought awareness to the park. Early aviators August Moore Herring and Logan Archbold Vilas used the beach to experiment with aircraft. Vilas would become the first person to fly across Lake Michigan, starting at Silver Beach and flying to Chicago.
Drake and Wallace considered other methods to popularize the beach for tourists. They invited local concessionaires to sell novelties like swimming caps and lemonade in a barrel. Games of chance and a photographic studio emerged to allow portraits to be taken. By 1896, an ice cream parlor and a souvenir shop were erected. Wooden stands and white tents were found up and down the beachfront. A couple of water slides were anchored in shallow water for children at the turn of the century. This marked the beginning of the Silver Beach Amusement Park.
Inspiration continued as years passed and many “firsts” were introduced to the region. A wooden boardwalk allowed courting couples to stroll above the rushing water and featured three key buildings. The first called Natorium housed a bathhouse and swimming pool, a rarity for the time. This gave beachgoers the option to swim either in the lake or a heated indoor pool. The second building was a roller rink with a pipe organ, both firsts in the region.
The third building opened in 1907. Capitalizing the growing need for a big dance hall, a dance pavilion was constructed. The pavilion hosted dancing and big band music. It featured two stages for bands, urging the “Battle of the Bands” to become a popular event on the beachfront.
In addition, a House of Mysteries was built alongside a penny arcade, concession stands, and beachfront boxing ring. Boxer Tommy Ryan was known to organize matches hosted there. Entertainment for all ages and all interests was found in one location: Silver Beach Amusement Park.
Drake provided steamboat access from Chicago to the park, increasing its accessibility and popularity. The park expanded in the ensuing decades. In 1905 the Chase through the Clouds roller coaster was built. The Figure 8 coaster utilized several separate two-person cars. It became a staple at the park until it was torn down and replaced by the Velvet roller coaster in 1923. The park’s popularity continued to sky-rocket as other amusements were added.
In what has become an icon of Silver Beach, a merry-go-round carousel appeared in 1916. The three-row, Coney-Island style carousel featured 44 hand-carved horses and brass ring machine. The realistic horses were carved and purchased from Charles Carmel. Carmel was acknowledged as one of the Master Carvers of the Golden Age of the Carousel. The carousel was immensely popular with visitors to the amusement park. While many American carousels were lost to fire, the Silver Beach Carousel operated continuously until the park officially closed.
The last improvement was the construction of the Shadowland Ballroom in May 1927. The ballroom replaced the dance pavilion and became one of the finest dance facilities in the country. The ballroom was decorated with 5,000 yards of silk pongee stretched between arches that permitted natural light. Dances were held seven days a week and were free, unless it was a big band event.
Over a thousand dancers on any given night was not uncommon. The Shadowland Ballroom even staged fad marathon dances during the 1930s. The ballroom featured many well-known performers throughout its years, including the founders of Music Corporation of America.
The park’s founders and owners attempted to keep attractions interesting and ahead-of-the-curve. The old dance pavilion was renovated in a Fun House. The house included a 35-foot maplewood slide, revolving barrel, spinning saucer, sugar bowl, and a haunted house. Later, a Mirror Maze was placed under the same roof.
Silver Beach debuted multiple attractions throughout its tenure. Some popular additions were The Whip, an electric bumper car house, a beer garden, and a miniature diesel train called The Century Flyer. As time passed, the park continued to evolve. Kiddieland was created in the 1950s. This children’s attraction park featured rides customized for children too small to enjoy the larger rides. Miniature golf, go-karts, and various other carnival rides also came and went throughout the next two decades.
It was not until the late 1960s that Silver Beach Amusement Park’s popularity began to dwindle. The crime rate of the park rose significantly due to out-of-town teen gangs and the park’s congenial atmosphere decreased. Local police temporarily closed the park in 1970 after a particularly violent season. Additionally, the park’s age required extensive repairs. A costly estimation presented for repairs and improvements to buildings that had stood along the beachfront for nearly seven decades. The park attempted to recover, but the decision to permanently close was made after the 1971 season.
Upon its closing, rides and attractions were sold and the park was abandoned. Parts of Silver Beach made their way to amusement companies in Indiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Virginia. Those not sold were left to weather along the lakefront. However, it wasn’t uncommon to see couples walking the crumbling boardwalk hand-in-hand among the ruins of the once-prestigious amusement park.
LECO Corporation bought the property in 1977 and remnants continued to be forgotten by erosion and time. A sandy beach overtook the once-active locale as buildings were demolished. The buildings were demolished and a sandy beach overtook the once-active locale. Michigan’s Berrien County purchased it from LECO in 1990, and today operates it as Silver Beach County Park.
Over the past three decades, the spirit of Silver Beach was re-animated. The park now features a clean, wide beach on Lake Michigan and public access to St. Joseph’s South Pier. Of the park’s 2,450 feet of lake frontage, approximately 1,600 feet are dedicated for public swimming in the summer months. In 2010, the Silver Beach Center opened. Only a short walk from the expanse of beach sand, the Center offers a newly constructed Silver Beach experience.
Within the Center is a re-construction of the Silver Beach Carousel and a new Shadowland Ballroom. Other attractions such as a children’s museum, park museum, and Michigan’s tallest kaleidoscope are also present. Directly across the road is the Whirlpool Fountain, which provides fresh, free fun to the public.
Silver Beach is a premier tourist destination in Southwest Michigan. Consistently found on lists of “best lakeside beaches,” the park boasts ample sand and picturesque views below a charming town. Thousands of visitors are drawn to the area each year. The community of St. Joseph is proud to continue a dreamer’s delight with this new vision of what Silver Beach is and will be.
This writing piece was in response to words&ash’s Writing Prompt #1. Want to give it a try yourself? Click here to read more details!
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