Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement.
With the hot summer days approaching, there’s no better way to cool off in Naperville than by spending a day at Centennial Beach.
But the beach wasn’t always there, and isn’t a naturally-occurring beach at all.
The story behind the swimming venue goes back to a 19th century quarry — one of several in the city — from which limestone was taken to make many of the downtown buildings still in use today.
Although it’s not clear why, quarrying stopped in Naperville in the early 20th century. There are myriad theories as to why the industry went into decline: men going off to fight in World War I created a labor shortage; difficulty in competing for laborers with other industries, like Kroehler Manufacturing Co.; the stone being removed was dropping in quality; and spring water leaking into quarries making digging difficult.
People were known to sneak into abandoned the quarries to swim and fish so it wasn’t a big stretch that the Naperville Association of Commerce decided in 1931 that it would celebrate the city’s centennial by converting the defunct Big Quarry into a watering hole for the whole town to enjoy.
According to a June 16, 1931, story in the Naperville Clarion, the memorial would “not (be) simply one of bronze, stone or marble shaft, but rather one which would breathe the spirit of our community and at the same time serve as a utility for all our townspeople, men, women and children alike.”
Von Oven owned the property — 45 acres and two abandoned quarries — and sold it to 33 private investors for $16,500, each contributing $500 each toward the purchase price.
Centennial Park was dedicated on June 6, 1931, with the unveiling of plaque set into a three-ton boulder to commemorate the occasion. A time capsule was buried beneath it.
Only a month later, the city agreed to purchase the site after residents presented the request via a petition signed by 1,265 people.
With help from the Works Progress Administration, or WPA, a federal program started by President Franklin Roosevelt to get people working during the Great Depression, plans were made to improve the attraction. Local resident Eric Baumgart was chosen to design the plans for Centennial Beach.
The west end would have a bathing beach. Water was pumped out of that section so a retaining wall could be built to create a 120-foot-by-230-foot pool that went from zero depth to 5.5 feet.
Anywhere from 20 to 25 local laborers would work six-hour shifts – either 6 a.m. to noon or 1 to 7 p.m. – to construct the wall and swimming area, put in landscaping and build a foot bridge that would make the park accessible from both sides of the DuPage River. A total of 191 men would end up working on the project.
According to a 1933 Chicago Tribune article, 17 carloads of sand were brought from Lake Michigan to create the beach.
The city of Naperville pledged $88,571 toward the improvements. The WPA added another $42,111.
The 24-inch-thick retaining was built 100 feet from the shore. The quarry was divided by a 108-foot-long dam that was 29 feet high.
Finished just after summer started, it was dedicated on July 7, 1932.
In just 10 days, 2,500 free season passes were issued to Naperville residents and another 2,000 sold to out-of-towners at a cost of 15 for children and 25 cents for adults, according to a 1932 article in the Naperville Clarion.
The first year of business brought in $5,043 for the city.
A bathhouse, build by the WPA with Naperville limestone, was completed in November 1934.
An aquathon — a show with water ballet, water skiing and synchronized swimming — helped celebrate the completion of the bathhouse the following summer.
In 1936, another WPA project, this one costing $45,000, was needed. Swimming water was pumped out and the walls were cleaned. An 87-foot-long dam from the high-dive stand across to the opposite bank was built. Measuring 24 feet in height, the dam divided the beach end of the pool from the unimproved area and cut down on amount of chlorine needed for the water. The shallow end was expanded by 30 feet.
While Centennial Beach serves an example of the city’s civic mindedness, it wasn’t perfect.
African Americans were not allowed to use it until the 1950s. A desegregation protest in the mid-1950s caused the beach to close early one season.
Naperville Park District took control of the beach from the city in 1969. By then, conditions had deteriorated and a Save the Beach committee was formed the following year. Their December 1970 report led to the pool being drained for the first time so underwater debris could be cleared.
Other notable events in Centennial Beach’s history include:
- The Mudrats swim team was formed in 1971;
- The diving area was renovated in 1976;
- A new circulation and chlorination system were installed in 1977;
- $2 million was spent in 2002-04 to install new concrete decks, replace the circulation system and lighting, build new staircases and add water play features;
- A shallow end slide was installed in 2007;
- The bathhouse was preserved and family locker rooms and a concessions building were added in 2010.
- The pool did not open for the first time in its history in 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Andrea Field is the curator of history at Naper Settlement. For more information, go to www.NaperSettlement.org. Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
