More from Wikipedia:
"This is the building that still stands. Originally built as a Protestant-only club, later, Irish-Catholics were admitted.
Besides the main clubhouse, the Country Club also had stables, a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, a bowling green, and a private beach on Lake Michigan.
By the early 1960s, the character of the neighborhood was changing rapidly. As Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore became racially integrated, the wealthy whites who formed the membership in the club started to leave the neighborhood in droves. In 1967, the club considered opening its membership to Jews (for the first time since the 1930s) and African Americans (for the first time ever). The decision at that time not to open membership accelerated the decline of the club; in 1973, the decision was made to liquidate its assets, and in 1975, the property was sold to the Chicago Park District for $9,775,000. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
A coalition of neighborhood activists and historic preservationists successfully convinced the Park District not to demolish the buildings. Instead, the facility was renamed the South Shore Cultural Center. Over two decades, the main buildings were slowly renovated and repurposed. Other buildings were torn down."
From the Chicago Park District website:
"Located in the South Shore community, South Shore Cultural Center (formerly the South Shore Country Club) is a cultural facility that has been recognized as a Chicago Landmark (2004) and is also listed on the National Register (1975). This cultural haven was founded in 1905 and later rebuilt in 1916. Bought by the Chicago Park District in 1975, this historic building was restored as a historic landmark after a massive community campaign led by the Chicago Park District and historic preservationists. South Shore Cultural Center totals 64.50 acres. With its magnificent country club-like interior,this facility features a solarium, formal dining hall, Paul Robeson Theater, Washburne Culinary Institute, and the Parrot Cage Restaurant. Green features of the park include a nature sanctuary and a butterfly garden. Outside, the park offers a nine-hole golf course, beach, and open spaces for picnics and walks.
South Shore Beach is part of the South Shore Cultural Center, which is considered to be the jewel of the neighborhood. The site is a 65-acre park with a golf course, tennis courts, a pool, and an elaborate, refurbished clubhouse. The clubhouse is surrounded by the golf course, and sits back from the beach area. The site also has a circular beach house with concessions, restrooms, and showers, and it is located just to the east of the clubhouse on the beach. As of 2001, South Shore also has its own Nature Sanctuary, and visitors can walk along a boardwalk near the beach, and observe the emerging sand dunes, a small wetland, prairie landscape, and a variety of wildlife in the area."
Scenes from The Blues Brothers movie were filmed here: The ‘Palace Hotel Ballroom’, “up north on Lake Wazupumani,” where the Blues Brothers get their first major gig, is neither “up north”, nor “106 miles from Chicago” but was the South Shore Country Club!
I was able to visit and tour the facility during the Oct 2012 Open House Chicago (
visit link)