History of Chicago Air and Water Show: From $88 budget to iconic event

CHICAGO (WGN) – This weekend, the Chicago Air and Water Show will grace the city’s skyline once again.

The event is the largest and oldest free-admission air and water exhibition in the country.

Here’s how the now-iconic summer spectacle came to be.

According to officials, the city’s first Air and Water Show was held on the lakefront in 1959 under the direction of Al Benedict, a Chicago Park District Supervisor at Lake Shore Park.

The 1959 show was held at Chicago Avenue and Lake Michigan and was titled the Lake Shore Park Air & Water Show.

In fact, the show was part of a “Family Day” celebration for children enrolled in the Chicago Park District’s day camp program.

The budget was $88, and the show featured a Coast Guard Air Sea Rescue demonstration, water skiers, a water ballet, games and a diving competition.

The next year, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Golden Knights Parachute Team performed to a large crowd and the event became a Chicago summer tradition.