Beverly Shores is a historic South Shore Line flag stop that serves a small nearby beach community and surrounding nearby areas in Porter County. The station is located a mile inland from beaches on Lake Michigan and also serves natural areas of the Indiana Dunes National Seashore. In addition, the Calumut Trail, a dirt track (bikes are allowed) runs in the same clearing of trees as the railroad (that also includes lots of transmission lines) to Dune Park 4.5 miles east, and into Michigan City. A second flag stop at Kemil Road used to also serve hikers at Kemil Road a mile and a half west of the station. It was open from 1977, at the request of South Shore recreation, a citizen group until it was closed with 7 other flag stops in a service revision to speed up service on July 5, 1994.
The stop consists of a wonderful historic Mediterranean Station House built in 1929 designed by Arthur Gerber that fits right into the Interurban heritage of the South Shore Line. It is the only surviving example of the Insull Spanish style used for stations along numerous Interurban railways in the Chicago area controlled by the electric utility magnet Charles Insull. The depot is a single story pink building with orange trim and distinctive dark red Spanish-tile roofs. The building today primarily contains a small art gallery, mostly occupied by modern art but also a smaller vestibule showcasing more history. It is open Summer Fridays and Weekends only. The staffer stands at what could have been an original ticket office (no photos because of the artwork). Passengers have a small annex of the depot still that is equally historic. There is a small waiting room with a few benches and a wooden ceiling. Large wooden doors can close off a smaller area that contains two new credit card only TVMs, a water fountain and a single restroom (that was immaculately clean). On top of the station house placing the platform is a red neon sign that says Beverly Shores that was added by the township in the 1940s as an advertising measure.
The platform itself is extremely simple. There is a low-level platform that is about ten feet long with modern amenities like a tactile warning strip along the line that has a single track. The train stop markers mean all riders need to be in the front 2 cars. The boarding area is directly in front of the station house, quite stepped back from the platform with a sidewalk (that almost feels like it should be part of a longer platform) leading to the level crossing of Broadway (the train stop marker Chicago-bound is just before the grade-crossing). On the platform is a wooden telephone pole with a strobe light on it that riders are instructed to push 5 minutes before the train is scheduled to alert the driver to stop at night. A tactile sign and benches that are directly outside the depot slightly set back from the tracks. Otherwise the platform has an unnecessary fence and grass between the depot and the street. A small 39 space parking lot is located behind the depot, well set back from the street.
Photos 1-38 taken on 11 June, 2016; 39-49: 3 June, 2017
