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The Marquette Park Pavilion, originally named the Recreation Pavilion, was designed by the office of the regionally famous architect, George W. Maher in an eclectic mix of the Prairie School and Italian Renaissance Revival styles. Throughout its lifetime the Marquette Park Pavilion has been a popular site for all types of celebrations, including weddings, civic events, and social gatherings.
The Marquette Park Pavilion has gone through numerous renovations over the years. In the early 1980s, windows were replaced and interior rooms were reconfigured. In the mid-1990s repairs were made to the building’s roof, exterior facades, and exterior lighting. Recent renovations, part of the scope of improvements completed under the 2010 Marquette Park Lakefront East Master Plan, upgraded the entire facility, providing modernized event spaces, an updated kitchen, and bar facilities. The building is now 100% accessible and still retains its eligibility for listing on the National Historic Register.
The first road to modern day Marquette Park was constructed in 1865, when settlers first began populating the lakefront area. At the turn of the century, Octave Chanute flew gliders and biplanes off of the dunes in Miller Beach. Alice Mabel Gray, “Diana of the Dunes,” retreated to the dunes for a life of solitude. The area also attracted recreation seekers. Carr’s Bathhouse at the north end of Lake Street was the area’s most popular lakefront destination with bathing facilities, a dance hall, and beach cottages. In 1912, recognizing the recreational potential of the lakefront, City of Gary leaders assembled a committee to create a recreational area with access to the lakefront. After much discussion about how to secure lakefront property, U.S. Steel purchased 116 acres and donated the land to the City of Gary, setting the stage for what is now Marquette Park.
In the early 1920s work began on Lake Front Park including the leveling of the sand dune south of the future Gary Bathing Beach Pavilion (the current day Aquatorium). Construction on the Bathing Beach Pavilion continued through 1921 and the facility opened to the public on June 17, 1922. Following the construction of the Bathing Beach Pavilion was the construction of the Recreation Pavilion, completed in 1924. During the Great Depression, Works Progress Administration labor was used for improvements in the park. Also during this time, Lake Front Park was renamed in honor of Pere Jacques Marquette. A monument was erected in his honor in 1932. In 1941, the City of Gary purchased additional lakefront land northwest of the lagoon, extending to Lake Street.