Lincoln Park, 1905. Long before Lake Shore Drive was a bustling eight-lane expressway, it was just a wide unpaved path along the lake, where the wealthiest Chicagoans would go for an afternoon stroll or a scenic ride in their horse-drawn carriages. In fact, one of those affluent Chicagoans, the famous Potter Palmer, convinced the city to construct Lake Shore Drive at the end of the 19th century to connect his sprawling "castle" to downtown, thereby increasing his property's value. The Palmer Mansion was just a few blocks south of the present-day boundaries of Lincoln Park, on Lake Shore Drive between Schiller and Banks, though it was torn down in 1951.

Beginning at Oak Street, this early Lake Shore Drive extended only to Fullerton Avenue, which was considered the outermost limit of the city at the time.

Image via Library of Congress.