Chicago Marine Safety Center
On Monday July 17, 2000 the Chicago Marine Heritage Society formally announced its campaign to recreate the downtown “Old Coast Guard Station as a state of the art combined service marine safety station.”
Chicago Sun Times July 17, 2000
“For a city with the largest inland harbor in the U.S., there has to be a first class facility for lifesaving, loss prevention and safety instruction.” - David Truitt, Chairman of the Chicago Marine Heritage Society
This announcement was followed by two weeks of daily radio interviews, presentations to interested groups, and meetings with interested public officials.
The result was the establishment of a task force composed of city, state, and federal officials working with corporate and not for profit counterparts who together drafted a coherent, comprehensive plan which garnered the necessary local, state and federal support to rebuild the facility as a state of the art safety center manned by The Chicago Marine Police unit, The United States Coast Guard and State of Illinois Conservation Police Marine units.
On October 8, 2005 Mayor Richard M. Daley dedicated the restored Chicago Marine Safety Station – a modern facility designed to provide safety and security on Chicago’s waterways.
“This new facility will help protect the safety of the countless swimmers, boaters, and fishermen who use Lake Michigan, and will help make Chicago an even better place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Mayor Daley.
