Miller Beach
Miller Beach or Miller, is a small town near Gary, Indiana situated on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. It borders Porter County to the east, and Interstate Highway 65 to the west. Miller also encompasses part of the eastern region of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It can be described as one of Northwest Indiana's Dune Towns and the closest Indiana beach town to Chicago.
Miller Beach's story begins in 1851, when a train stop later named"Miller's Junction", was constructed by a predecessor of Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. Miller would later be serviced by the B&O Railroad as well as the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad. The old station for the LS&MS RR is now Miller Pizza on Lake Street. Miller Beach is also famous for Octave Chanute's glider flights across the dunes. These experiments in flying predate the Wright Brothers by nearly a decade.[1]
The Town of Miller was annexed by the City of Gary in the 1920's, against the wishes of citizens of Miller. The Town of Miller Beach is located six miles east of Gary proper.
Over the years Miller Beach has continued to retain a spirit of autonomy from the city of Gary. Miller Beach homeowners pay the majority of the property taxes received by the city, however Miller Beach receives extremely poor civil services from Gary. Many of the responsibilities of the municipality, such as litter removal, park maintenance and general sanitation are covered by individual Miller citizens or Miller Beach community groups. The unwanted annexation of Miller, the hostile anti-Miller actions of the mayor and Gary city council, the neglect of civil duties and hostility projected towards Miller from Gary residents have led to a general feeling of resentment of Gary held by many of the citizens of Miller Beach... Most Miller citizens adamantly reject the idea of Miller being referred to as "a section of Gary" or "a Neighborhood of Gary." Many citizens and businesses in the area continue to list their mailing addresses as Miller or Miller Beach, Indiana. A grassroots effort is currently underway to dis-annex Miller Beach and restore its political independence with the aim of providing Miller citizens with better schools, improved municipal services and to escape from the stigma of association with the city of Gary.
The beaches, wind-swept dunes and abundance of natural land and wildlife makes property in Miller Beach exceedingly valuable. Miller Beach is surrounded on all sides by The Indiana Dunes National Park. This gives the area a sense of relative remoteness and lends to its image as a suburban oasis; however Miller Beach is only a half hour commute from downtown Chicago.
Attractions in Miller include:
- Lake Street shopping corridor, (Downtown Miller)
- The Historic Marquette Park Pavilion,
- The Aquatorium and Octave Chanute/Tuskegee Airmen Museum,
- Marquette Park Lagoon and Japanese Bridges.
Thousands of visitors flock to Miller each year to enjoy hiking the dune trails, birdwatching, water sports and fishing on Lake Michigan or to visit the beaches and National Park during the summer. Beach front properties in Miller are also available for rent during the summer, many of which provide breathtaking views of the magnificent Chicago skyline contrasted against the shimmering waters of Lake Michigan. During the winter months, activity in Miller slows considerably; however the hills, dunes and backwoods trails provide for great hiking, sledding and snowshoeing. Miller, known for years as an eclectic artist community and Hippie enclave, has recently become renowned as having some of the best restaurants in Northern Indiana. [2]