Chicago Daily News Fresh Air Sanitarium

    This building was designed by Dwight Perkins in 1913. Perkins was a member of the firm Perkins, Fellows and Hamilton. He was a Prairie School architect. He designed Cafe Brauer, the Lincoln Park Lion House and the North Pond Cafe.

  The building was constructed in 1920 on a landfill area.  Construction was financed by the Chicago Daily News.  It was constructed in brick with a steel arched pavilion.

     This building was preceded by 2 successive open air floating hospitals.

     The facility had 250 basket baby cribs, nurseries and rooms for older children.  During its lifetime (1920–1939), the Sanitarium provided free health services, milk and lunches to 30,000 children each summer.

     During a reconstruction project on Lake Shore Drive, the building front entrance was demolished.  During War World 2,the structure became the official recreation center for the USO.

     The Chicago Park District converted the building into the Theater on the Lake in 1957

     Recently, a restaurant was added to the building.