Chicagoans returned to the beach on Friday – finally!

“I’m glad we’re coming back with our friends and stuff because last year was kind of taken away from us. So that’s cool, we used to go to the beach a lot and just hang out and stuff. I’m excited. It’s like a summer, finally, ”said beachgoer Xavier Martinez.

Martinezs and his friends flocked to North Avenue Beach, which was closed last summer due to the pandemic.

“I was here last year to get kicked off the beach,” said swimmer Amaya Wragge. “It’s much better knowing that I can just enjoy the outdoors, vaccinated.”

You can enjoy the sand, but red flags mean there are no lifeguards on duty. Chicago’s beaches will officially open next Friday, the start of Memorial Day weekend. Until then, don’t get in the water.

“Don’t fit in… because, come on, you break an inch, you take a tape measure, okay. You get your ankles up, so you feel like you can get down on your knees, and that’s not something that isn’t really responsible when we don’t have lifeguards present, ”said Alonzo Williams, director of Chicago Park District programs.

Downtown, the Chicago Architecture Center reopens this weekend. It has been closed since the end of last summer. The Skyscraper Gallery offers new models from architects from around the world.

“It’s so exciting to have the opportunity to welcome people again,” said Deb Rodak of the Chicago Architecture Center. “Uplifting for us, we hope it’s uplifting for them. We hope they can use our center as a hub for their exploration of Chicago.”

And it’s time to officially activate the Buckingham Fountain this weekend.

“After being stopped for so long, it’s almost like an erupting volcano after a long time. It’s a bit like we are; we have been under pressure in this pandemic. And we are ready to explode. I think the fountain symbolizes all of us in some way, ”said Angelia Lewis, visiting from Wisconsin.