TOURING CHICAGO’S LAKEFRONT WITH GEOFFREY BAER - Monday, April 14 at 7:00 pm on WTTW

Geoffrey Baer is back to traverse the length and breadth of Chicago’s world-famous “front yard” and explore everything from beloved birds to submerged secrets along Chicago’s lakefront. A fascinating 60-minute journey from the history of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable to modern-day hikes on Northerly Island, fishing for lake trout, and snorkeling on a prehistoric reef, Touring Chicago’s Lakefront with Geoffrey Baer premieres on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 7:00 pm on WTTW, the PBS app and wttw.com/lakefront. Watch the trailer >>

Highlights include:

• An immersive portrait of savvy entrepreneur Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, considered the first permanent resident of modern day Chicago;
• A “moment of zen” in the bucolic Garden of the Phoenix in Jackson Park – Osaka, Japan’s contribution to the 1893 Columbian Exposition;
• Lunch at Calumet Fisheries where Geoffrey samples some piping hot salmon fresh from the company’s smokehouse, in continuous use since 1928;
• The divergent roles played by DuSable, architect Daniel Burnham, retail giant Aaron Montgomery Ward, notorious grifter George Wellington Streeter, and others in shaping the lakefront as we know it;
• A rodeo showcasing young African American riders on the grounds of the South Shore Cultural Center, which was once a racially segregated country club;
• Geoffrey snorkels a little-known shipwreck just 600 feet off 47th Street in Kenwood on Morgan Shoal, a prehistoric dolomite reef where the steamship Silver Spray ran aground and sank in July 1914;
• The story of a deadly 1919 race riot touched off by the murder of a Black teen at the 31st Street Beach – a violent week-long battle that resulted in 38 fatalities;
• Surprising histories of cherished lakefront landmarks, including the battle to save Grant Park and the role Promontory Point played in the Cold War;
• A hike through Northerly Island near downtown Chicago, now a pastoral landscape as envisioned in the Burnham Plan of 1909. Geoffrey and his guide recall its history as Meigs Field, a commuter airport that met an abrupt and surprising end, and before that a great World’s Fair;
• A glimpse of endangered piping plovers – descendants of avian folk heroes Monty and Rose – at a popular rest stop for migratory birds: the beach and restored dune at Montrose Point;
• The parallel between the NASCAR street race in Grant Park and a related auto race held more than a century ago, the first of its kind in America;
• And Geoffrey’s very first foray into lake fishing!

“We are excited to premiere this new special for WTTW,” said Sandra Cordova Micek, WTTW President and CEO. “In Touring Chicago’s Lakefront, Geoffrey Baer once again brings curious viewers to new and unexpected places as he inspires all of us to explore and understand the history and future of our fascinating city.”

“As a city built on a flat, soggy landscape, the lake is our one truly spectacular natural feature,” said Geoffrey. “I hope this show will remind people how critically important the lake is and inspire them to explore on their own.”

Visit the companion website (wttw.com/lakefront) on April 14 to take a guided tour of the lakefront by bike; read stories on Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, the Lake Michigan shipwrecks, and invasive species that have wreaked havoc on Lake Michigan’s ecosystem; and meet four swimmers who swim in Lake Michigan year-round, braving even the coldest winter temperatures and 36-degree water in a web-extra video.

Geoffrey Baer is an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and host for WTTW. Known for programs about the architecture and history of Chicago including Chicago Mysteries, The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago, Chicago by ‘L’ and The Chicago River Tour, Geoffrey also hosted the PBS series 10 that Changed America and the PBS special Weekend in Havana. Geoffrey has been a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center since 1987 and has been honored by the American Institute of Architects Chicago, the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Chicago Headline Club.

TOURING CHICAGO’S LAKEFRONT WITH GEOFFREY BAER is hosted, written, and executive-produced by Geoffrey Baer, and produced and written by Michael West. Editor: Joe Winston. Director of Photography: Brendan Walsh. Associate Producer: Brendan Brown. Website Content Producer: Meredith Francis. Website Design, Development, and Production: Justin Henderson. EVP Marketing & Digital: Anne Gleason.

Lead support for TOURING CHICAGO’S LAKEFRONT WITH GEOFFREY BAER is provided by The Negaunee Foundation. Lead corporate support is provided by BMO. Major support is provided by Clifford Law Offices, Bob, Joan, and Erin Clifford; Matt and Joyce Walsh; Heritage Corridor Destinations; Steinhafels Furniture & Mattress; and other generous sponsors. (as of 3/10/25)

WTTW is the PBS member station in Chicago, committed to creating and presenting unique media content across distinct television and digital channels – WTTW, WTTW Prime, WTTW Create, WTTW World, WTTW/PBS Kids 24/7, wttw.com, and the PBS app. Recognized for award-winning journalism and local productions – such as Chicago Stories, Chicago Tonight, Chicago by ‘L’, digital series Firsthand and Urban Nature; and national productions Prehistoric Road Trip and Nature Cat – WTTW presents the very best in public affairs, arts and culture, nature and science, history and documentary, and children’s public media content. Connect with WTTW on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.