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Sheridan Beach is the beach community of Michigan City, which is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, USA. It is one of two principal cities of and is included in the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined Statistical Area.It is also part of an area known to locals as Michiana. It is approximately 50 miles east of Chicago and 40 miles west of South Bend. The population was 32,900 at the 2000 census.

Michigan City is noted for both its proximity to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and for its bordering Lake Michigan; because of this, Michigan City receives a fair amount of tourism during the summer months, especially by residents of Chicago and of nearby areas of Indiana.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.9 km� (23.1 mi�). 50.8 km� (19.6 mi�) of it is land and 9.1 km� (3.5 mi�) of it (15.22%) is water.

History
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston.

The city became incorporated in 1836, by which point Michigan City had 1500 residents, along with a post office, a newspaper, a church, and a commercial district.

Points of interest
On clear days it is possible to see the Chicago skyline across Lake Michigan. In 1996 Democratic Mayor Sheila Brillson introduced a new logo for Michigan City, which featured the Chicago Skyline. Many residents rebelled at this proposal, so the official logo was changed.

Michigan City Area Schools, the city's public school system, includes one high school (Michigan City High School), three middle schools, and nine elementary schools. Michigan City also has three parochial high schools - Marquette, La Lumiere, and Duneland Lutheran. There are several parochial elementary schools in the city, including St. Paul Lutheran School, St. Stanislaus Kostka School, Queen Of All Saints, and Notre Dame Catholic School. At one time Michigan City had two public high schools, M.C. Elston High School (Red Devils)(Elston is now the name of one of the middle schools located in the city and is located at the former Elston High School), and M.C. Rogers High School (Raiders). The two schools combined after the 1994-1995 school year and now constitute the present day Michigan City High School. The school is located at the former Rogers High School site.

Michigan City is the home of the Old Michigan City Light, one of Indiana's few lighthouses. Michigan City's largest shopping center, Lighthouse Place Outlet Mall, which was built in the mid 1980s, pays homage to the lighthouse. Marquette Mall, constructed in 1965, is Michigan City's sole conventional shopping mall. St. Anthony Memorial Health Center is Michigan City's sole hospital.

In terms of media, Michigan City has one daily newspaper, The News-Dispatch. It also has one FM radio station, WEFM, and one AM radio station, WIMS, together with one government access cable TV station, Access LaPorte County. Michigan City is in Chicago's Area of Dominant Influence. Radio and Television broadcasts from both Chicago and South Bend reach most of the population.

Michigan City also houses a zoo, and features on its outskirts the Indiana State Prison.

Known for its many talented musicians, Michigan City also has one of the nation's oldest active municipal bands. Free concerts are performed for the public every Thursday evening at the Guy F. Foreman Amphitheatre located in Washington Park.

The eastern edge of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is also located in Michigan City. Features include Mount Baldy, a large wandering dune. A larger dune, Hoosier Slide, sat at the site of the current electrical generating station. This dune was mined for its sand in the late 19th century. The sand found on the beaches in and near Michigan City is nicknamed "singing sand" because of the sound it produces.

In recent years, Michigan City has added a riverboat, The Blue Chip Casino. This casino is the largest riverboat in Indiana. The Blue Chip is currently in the midst of building the biggest building in all of northwest Indiana by adding a 22 story hotel to its offerings. Michigan City has also added a new skatepark at Pullman Field to its tourism offerings.

Going forward Michigan City is looking to revitalize much of its north end. The plan on the table is the Andrews Plan. The Andrews Plan also won an award for 2008 CNU Charter Award of Excellence.

- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia