Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago has scuba diving history
<p>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.</p><p>In Chicago, the 109-foot Silver Spray is the only shipwreck you can spot from DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-c50000" name="image-c50000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/756cb4c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/acefba9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d8061d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="dive boat.jpg" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d8061d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bdede36/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d8061d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5492x3082+0+325/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fd7%2F88%2F5161b37d4dd1b21c1be4623ab02e%2Fdive-boat.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Double Action Dive Charters takes scuba divers out in Lake Michigan to visit some sunken barges on July 25, 2026.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Susie An/WBEZ</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>“These are archaeological sites that tell us part of the vital history of Chicago’s development,” said Madeline Crispell, curator at the Chicago Maritime Museum.</p><p>I recently visited a couple of these so-called archaeological sites.
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- <p>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.</p><p>In Chicago, the 109-foot Silver Spray is the only shipwreck you can spot from DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
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Shipwrecks, mussels and sponges: Chicago has scuba diving history
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times