Miller Beach Arts and Creative District

Located in the community of Miller Beach, Indiana, the Miller Beach Arts and Creative District is a demarcated area positioned on Lake Michigan's southern beaches and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park.^[1] The district includes much of the historically significant downtown Miller area. Miller's downtown first developed in 1851 when a train stop, eventually called "Miller's Junction", was constructed by a predecessor of Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad.^[2][3] The first real settlement occurred as Swedish immigrants, many fleeing Chicago after The Great Fire, moved to the area in the early 1870s. They founded a church, eventually building a frame church in 1894 that still stands in the District.

The most important experiments in aeronautics prior to the Wright brothers were conducted within the area now included in the District. Octave Chanute, the scientist who coined the word "Aviation" performed glider experiments at Miller Beach which developed the basic bi-plane design which was adopted by the Wright brothers.^[4]

The area now contained within the Arts District was also frequented by several notable artists, authors, bohemians and eclectic figures. "Diana of the Dunes" one of the first female faculty members of the University of Chicago rebelled against what she saw as "the competitive, materialistic world of Chicago" fled to the dunes of Miller in 1915 and became a hermit. She often frequented the local library and shops within the district.^[5]

Notable authors Nelson Algren and Simone de Beauvoir lived and worked out of in a cottage within the district. Algren wrote several novels including "the Man with the Golden Arm."^[6] Simone de Beuvoir, a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist, wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and social issues. She is now best known for her metaphysical novels, including "She Came to Stay" and "The Mandarins", and for her 1949 treatise The Second Sex. Written partially within Algren's Miller Beach cottage, Beuvoir's book is a detailed analysis of women's oppression and is considered the foundational tract of contemporary feminism.^[7]

The Miller Beach Arts and Cultural District was created as a catalyst for urban regeneration providing a mass of places of cultural production and consumption - such as art galleries, dance studios, theaters, art cinemas, music venues, retail establishments, restaurants as well as public spaces for live performances, artistic expression and cultural exhibits in a Downtown Miller's historic setting.^[8] The District was established specifically to revitalize downtown Miller Beach into a cultural destination for the visual, performing and culinary arts and serve as a catalyst for community regeneration,^[9] sustainability and livability in Northwest Indiana. The district is slated to include several Live/Work spaces for artists and other individuals involved in various creative industries.^[10]

See also

• Urban regeneration
• Creative industries
• Cultural industries
• Entertainment district
• Creative class
• Miller Beach
• Marquette Park (Gary)
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
• Lake Michigan

References

1. ^ http://millerbeacharts.org/Events---Exhibits.html
2. ^ http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/7794858-418/art-pops-up-in-miller-on-saturday.html
3. ^ "Western New York Railroad archive". http://www.wnyrails.org/railroads/nyc/lsms_home.htm. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
4. ^ "US Centennial of Flight Commission". http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/chanute/PH7.htm. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
5. ^ Spicer, Steve. "Miller History". http://spicerweb.org/Miller/MillerHistory/ml_hist.aspx. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
6. ^ Witter, David. "This Particular Patch, Nelson Algren's Indiana Getaway". http://summer.newcity.com/2009/05/19/this-particular-patch-nelson-algrens-indiana-getaway/. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
7. ^ "Simone de Beauvoir". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir. 
8. ^ Eaton, Tom. "Miller Message". MCC miller Message. Lakeshore Shopper. http://www.millercitizenscorp.org/pdf/Miller_Message_2011-05_May_2011.pdf. Retrieved May 2011. 
9. ^ web|last=Kefentse|first=Kwende|title=Community Regeneration, Sustanibility and Youth|url=http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2009/02/20/community-regeneration-sustainability-innovation-and-youth/%7Caccessdate=12 May 2011}}
10. ^ "Art lovers take evening stroll in Miller". http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/lake/7849594-418/art-lovers-take-evening-stroll-in-miller.html.