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Cleveland has always been an important port town. The East Entrance Lighthouse, standing on the south shores of Erie, where it meets the Cuyahoga, played an integral role in facilitating waterway transportation, which is partly responsible for the growth of the city. Because Erie is a shallow lake and thus capable of producing problematic storms, breakwaters were constructed in the late 1800s to protect the harbors. This proved successful. So much so that the 1901 annual report of the Army Corps of Engineers stated, “Cleveland leads all the cities of the Union in the diversity of manufactures, as is doubtless the case. The most important single element contributing to this result is cheap water transportation.” As the breakwater expanded, the demand grew for a lighthouse, and by 1918, we erected a 45 feet tall steel tower, complete with a then-revolutionary electric light at the top. Today, this lighthouse is still standing.