Tower of History, Michigan

The small city of Sault Ste. Marie Michigan operates as a tourist town, focused on its history, ships, and the locks. “Sault” is French for rapids, and the Soo has always been about the passage, even before the locks, when the rapids on the river forced a portage for fur trader’s canoes and other vessels. One attraction in town, the Tower of History, provides an overview of the region. From the top of the tower, which looms over town, you can see the locks, and the International Bridge which passes over them, spanning the boundary, and uniting the two Soos. Beyond it is a steel mill, on the Canadian side. The 20-story brutalist tower was built by the Catholic church here in 1968, as a bell tower. It became a museum and tourist attraction in 1980.