The lovely lakeside homes on the shores of Beverly Shores
Last weekend, my mom, Anna, Anna's husband and I took nata-for and her family, as well as some of my mom's friends/underlings from works, to Indiana Dunes, to enjoy Beverly Shores' lovely Lake View beach. My mom wrote about it in some detail on her LJ, and I'm not sure there's much I can add. But it did remind me that there is something I've been meaning to post for quite a while. And since I unexpectedly got a free evening tonight...
For those of you who haven't read my previous posts on the subject, Beverly Shores' whole history might as well be subtitled "what might have been." In 1927, Frederick H. Bartlett Company decided to build an upscale resort along the shores of Lake Michigan, conveniently close to the South Shore Line. But by the time construction started... Great Depression happened.
Beverly Shores never became a resort Bartlett envisioned, but it didn't mean it was a complete bust. It was still a small town in the middle of the forest, with rolling hills and beautiful, dune-filled beaches. Plenty of people wanted to build homes - mostly dachi at first, but over the next few decades, there were plenty of year-round homes as well.
Walking along the shore, you see plenty of homes. Some look like they've been around for a while, while others look brand-new. And all of them look well-maintained. In fact, I saw several homes getting remodeled and/or expanded over the years. So the interest is still there. Which makes sense. Beverly Shores is not fashionable like, say, New Buffalo, but that's the point. You can have a house right along the lake for a fraction of the price. And, from what John (Anna's husband) told me, Beverly Shores is a heck of a lot cozier and quieter than New Buffalo.
Here are some of the pictures I took over the years of the houses along the shore.
How much do they cost? Well, last year, I picked up a real estate flier for a house below.
And the price was listed as $1,195,000. That's almost $1.2 million. With an M.
When I checked the listing a few days ago, I saw that it went down $995,000. Which still isn't small, but quite a bit cheaper than an average home in New Buffalo. And if can't afford to buy a house in Beverly Shores, there are always vacation rentals.
I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any articles touting Beverly Shores as this great, hidden gem. Sure, it probably wouldn't be the same if it wasn't quite so obscure. But given that it was originally meant to be a resort... Part of me can't help but wonder what it would actually become a huge destination Bartlett envisioned, 100 years after the fact.
For those of you who haven't read my previous posts on the subject, Beverly Shores' whole history might as well be subtitled "what might have been." In 1927, Frederick H. Bartlett Company decided to build an upscale resort along the shores of Lake Michigan, conveniently close to the South Shore Line. But by the time construction started... Great Depression happened.
Beverly Shores never became a resort Bartlett envisioned, but it didn't mean it was a complete bust. It was still a small town in the middle of the forest, with rolling hills and beautiful, dune-filled beaches. Plenty of people wanted to build homes - mostly dachi at first, but over the next few decades, there were plenty of year-round homes as well.
Walking along the shore, you see plenty of homes. Some look like they've been around for a while, while others look brand-new. And all of them look well-maintained. In fact, I saw several homes getting remodeled and/or expanded over the years. So the interest is still there. Which makes sense. Beverly Shores is not fashionable like, say, New Buffalo, but that's the point. You can have a house right along the lake for a fraction of the price. And, from what John (Anna's husband) told me, Beverly Shores is a heck of a lot cozier and quieter than New Buffalo.
Here are some of the pictures I took over the years of the houses along the shore.
How much do they cost? Well, last year, I picked up a real estate flier for a house below.
And the price was listed as $1,195,000. That's almost $1.2 million. With an M.
When I checked the listing a few days ago, I saw that it went down $995,000. Which still isn't small, but quite a bit cheaper than an average home in New Buffalo. And if can't afford to buy a house in Beverly Shores, there are always vacation rentals.
I'm honestly surprised we haven't seen any articles touting Beverly Shores as this great, hidden gem. Sure, it probably wouldn't be the same if it wasn't quite so obscure. But given that it was originally meant to be a resort... Part of me can't help but wonder what it would actually become a huge destination Bartlett envisioned, 100 years after the fact.