Chicago’s longest string of subzero days is 10, logged more than a century ago in January 1912.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan by Paul Sager, on Flickr


We haven't had anything as cold this winter in Chicago. It was a brisk 8F this past Sunday morning as I walked over to Lake Michigan for some images of the frozen Lake Michigan.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan


Ice balls can usually be seen in late December and early January when temperatures fall into the teens and single digits. Cold temperatures cause heavy lake-effect snow to form a layer of floating slush on the lake. Wave action sculpts the slush into spheres.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan


Chicago's Lake Park was renamed to Lincoln Park in 1865 after Lincoln’s assassination.



Archery exploded in popularity in the 1870s and several locations were founded in Lincoln Park. The Lincoln Park Archery Range has been located near Belmont Harbor since the 1930s.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan


During the Great Chicago Fire, started on the night of October 8, 1871, the fire swept through the city along a four-mile corridor. Three hundred people died, 100,000 were made homeless and 17,500 buildings were destroyed. Chicago roared back to life following the disaster. The city centre was laid out on a new grid. New forms of fireproof construction went rivet-on-rivet with the latest building materials and components.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan


Charged with bringing their city back to life and pre-eminence, and to outdo New York, Chicago’s architects used the newest mass-produced, high quality, low-cost steel to build sky high. Until the mid-19th century, five stories had been the normal maximum height of commercial and residential buildings. The world’s first skyscraper was the 10-story Home Insurance Company completed in 1884. Chicago now has 52 building standing 600 feet or taller (183 meter). The former Hancock Tower is 100 floors and is now the 5th tallest building in Chicago and the 13th tallest in the USA.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan


All images shared in this post were captured starting around 7:00am Sunday January 30, 2022 along the shore of Lake Michigan at Chicago's Belmont Harbor. The RAW images were processed in Adobe Lightroom 6 with an HDR effect from Topaz Adjust. The EF 70-200mm f/4L was used with an EOS 5DIII.

Frozen Chicago - Lake Michigan