The land where Edgewater Park sits today was coveted by industry in the late 1800s because of its easy access to both water and rail. Fortunately, the City Beautiful movement that swept the nation after the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893 inspired our civic leaders to make more attractive use of the land. Eric Deutsch of the Friends of Edgewater State Park tells the whole colorful story with plenty of pictures, maps that give us a new appreciation of our precious public access.