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Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago has scuba diving history

suntimes.com · 2h · first reportShare

On a cloudy, 80-degree summer day, I squeezed myself into a full-length rubber wetsuit, pulled a tight hood over my head and shimmied my hands into some thick gloves. Several miles away in Lake Michigan from our starting point in Hammond, Indiana, my fellow scuba divers sweated it out on the boat while waiting to plunge into the water. In Chicago, the 109-foot Silver Spray is the only shipwreck you can spot from DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The ship ran aground in 1914 at the Morgan Shoals, an ancient reef where many ships have met their end. An estimated 6,000-10,000 shipwrecks are at the bottom of the Great Lakes, but the largest share lies in Lake Michigan. To see those, you’ll need to get in the water. Double Action Dive Charters takes scuba divers out in Lake Michigan to visit some sunken barges on July 25, 2026. Susie An/WBEZ “These are archaeological sites that tell us part of the vital history of Chicago’s development,” said Madeline Crispell, curator at the Chicago Maritime Museu