The Aquatorium is the former Gary Bathhouse that was opened in 1922 and closed in 1971. Twenty years later it reopened as the Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium.

It is safe to say that from 1921 to 1991 little was spent on maintenance. It wasn't until the Society stepped in that the building was revived.

With over ten years of renovation and countless hours of volunteer work, the splendid piece of architecture on the shores of Lake Michigan stands as a symbol of the resilient spirit of the people of Gary, IN. The Aquatorium is also the memorial to Octave Chanute who flew the world's first aeronautically designed glider from a dune just west of the building in 1896, and the Tuskegee airmen whose heroics in World War II led to the racial integration of the armed forces.

The Society for the Restoration of the Gary Aquatorium and Octave Chanute's Place in History is made up of citizens of Gary, Northwest Indiana, and indeed through the United States, who are interested in preserving the old Gary Bathhouse, the history of Octave Chanute, and the history of the Tuskegee Airmen.