Chicago's breathtaking Lake Shore Drive, with its beaches and luxury homes, has its origin in a neglected marsh and a clandestine land development. Meet the uncrowned king of the disputed shore, George Wellington Streeter, the outlandish swindler, unlikely hero and self-proclaimed founder of the Gold Coast who tried to secede from the state of Illinois. Opposing him was the quiet vision of Potter Palmer and the full weight of his investment syndicate. With this keen piece of investigative history, Wayne Klatt uncovers the secrets that both sides of the conflict managed to keep in spite of lawsuits, state inquiries, a presidential forgery and two murder trials. Growing up in Chicago, Wayne Klatt was intrigued by the Streeter legend and awed by the buildings and beaches along Lake Shore Drive. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a communications degree, he worked as a reporter and then editor at the City News Bureau of Chicago/City News Service until its closing in 2005. He won the Nit & Wit magazine short fiction award and a Paul Harvey award for radio drama writing. He and Gera-Lind Kolarik wrote the true-crime books Freed to Kill and I Am Cain, as well as articles for First Woman and Ladies Home Journal. On his own, he has written articles for the Chicago Tribune, Catholic Digest, Nostalgia Digest and Antiques & Collectibles, as well as the book Chicago Journalism: A History.