About

This website celebrates the beauty of the Chicago lakefront while highlighting the environmental history that shapes it.

This site uses photography to explore Chicago and its lakefront through ecology, history, and human action — using archival images to visualize a world before our time while intermixing present-day photographs to connect us with the realities of modern life.

Throughout this site, you will find resources that expand upon the site’s themes, including links to organizations working on structural solutions and information on personal steps you can take to help the environment and our communities.

About Michael Courier

My name is Michael Courier, and I created this website. Throughout my career, I have worked in communications — as a designer, web developer, and photographer.

I grew up on a small farm in Central Illinois, allowing me firsthand experience with an interconnected environment. Later, as I moved to Chicago and lived next to Lake Michigan, the conflicts between the built and natural world became more apparent. However, it took me years to fully understand and articulate my experiences.