Miller Beach became a popular tourist destination in the early 1900s thanks to its windswept sand dunes and Lake Michigan shoreline. Early aviator and Chicagoan Octave Chanute glided his aircraft over the dunes; botanist Henry Chandler Cowles studied plant succession in Miller Woods. Miller Beach's architecture is diverse, with historic park buildings designed by George W. Maher: the Marquette Park Pavilion and the Gary Bathing Beach Bathhouse. Miller Beach is now a part of Gary, Indiana, and the draw of the beach remains a timeless part of its past, present, and future.