In 1962, Bethlehem Steel revealed that it had sold two and a half million cubic yards of sand from its undeveloped central Dunes property to a contractor who in turn sold it to Northwestern University. The sand was to be removed from the Bethlehem property and transported up the lake, to be used as land-fill for the campus's expansion along its Evanston lakeshore. The announcement came as a blow to preservationists as bulldozers destroyed the wildest and largest undeveloped area of the Dunes. The frustration and anger of park advocates boiled to the surface in the response by U. S. Senator Paul Douglas, long-time champion of Dunes preservation. Less publicized than the Northwestern controversy, the city of Chicago soon thereafter purchased Dunes sand for use at Oak Street Beach.

Author: Paul H. Douglas
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37458)