12 THE A-U DU BION BU LD GES 
did we see so many birds low down in shrubs or even on the ground? May 
the cold weather perhaps have delayed the blooming of trees and emergence 
of insect life so that the birds were seeking insects in more sheltered places? 
—606 Thatcher Ave., River Forest, Ill. 
Grand Marais State Park 
By J. W. GALBREATH 
GRAND MARAIS STATE PARK has had a colorful background. It was created 
when the old Mississippi river channel was deserted many years ago. The 
Park was laid out by the East St. Louis Park Board around 1900 and con- 
sisted of 1125 acres of flat Mississippi river bottom containing three large 
lakes connected by a shallow channel. During the W.P.A. days, an eighteen 
hole golf course was developed, and an 8,000 seat concrete stadium was 
constructed on the island between Lakes 2 and 3. Then in the later 30’s, 
the ‘Lady of the Lake” Pageant was held annually. A lavish concrete 
swimming pool and dressing rooms were started but never completed. All 
in all, an estimated 5 million dollars of P.W.A. and W.P.A. funds were 
sunk in an attempt to make a respectable recreational area out of the Park. 
In 1946 the East St. Louis Park District, seeing that it had a white 
elephant on its hands, deeded the Park with all of its “assets” to the State of 
Illinois. Today the Park is in a sorry plight, the result of several complicated 
conditions both local and state-wide. When Harding Ditch was constructed 
to drain the swamp lands east of East St. Louis and 4 or 5 miles north of 
Lake Number 1, the natural outlet was Grand Marais Lake Number 1. 
As the result of soil erosion, tons of rich bottom land silt have been carried 
into the chain, completely filling Lakes Number 1 and 2 and partially 
filling Lake Number 3. As a result, the boat house and docks are no longer 
near enough to the water to be used. Recently, temporary docks have been 
built for the boats and some dredging has been done by the State for the 
past 4 or 5 years. 
After considerable discussion, both state-wide and local, the question of 
Grand Marais’s future is at stake, the State saying that it would be happy 
to give the park back to the city of East St. Louis, and East St. Louis, in 
turn, questioning the wisdom of accepting it. In 1955, Governor Stratton 
appointed a committee to make a study of Grand Marais and report by 
1957. In the meantime, fishing, boating, golfing and other forms of re- 
creation have declined. The State Legislature has placed a 10c admission 
fee on visitors, raising local objections and newspaper criticism. 
Grand Marais State Park, according to state figures, was the second most 
popular park in Illinois in 1954, being exceeded in attendance only by 
Starved Rock State Park. 814,078 people visited Grand Marais in 1954. 
Grand Marais is the only State Park near the East St. Louis-Belleville- 
Granite City Metropolitan Area. It is public property, rich in potential 
recreational facilities which should be developed, expanded and preserved 
for future generations. With our rapidly increasing population and de- 
clining areas available for recreation, we need Grand Marais, and have 
a right to expect the State of Illinois to improve and encourage its use. 
—9157 Richfield Road, East St. Louis, IIl- 
