The Tower of History (originally the Tower of Missionaries) is a

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

. Located at 326 E. Portage Avenue, it was the tallest observation tower in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

when completed in 1968. The tower was built in a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

style and consists of three vertical,

trapezoid A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a Convex polygon, convex quadri ...

-shaped columns that support five

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

ed observation platforms. It provides a panoramic, 360-degree view of the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lowe ...

, the St. Mary's River,

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, and cities on both the American and Canadian sides of the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

. The view extends for roughly ; in total, approximately are visible from the tower.

History

The Tower of History was built in 1968 by St. Mary's Catholic Church as part of a never-completed shrine to

Catholic missionaries Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

active in the Upper Peninsula that was to be named the Shrine of the Missionaries. It was designed by George Rafferty of

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

-based Progressive Design Associates, while

Frank Kacmarcik Frank Thomas Kacmarcik (12 March 1920 - 22 February 2004) was an American artist, designer, calligrapher, liturgical consultant, and collector of fine art and manuscripts. "Much of the progress that has been made in eligiousarchitecture and the art ...

served as the project's art consultant. The tower was built on the site of

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...

's first

log house A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term " log cabin" generally refers to a sm ...

and

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

. It was initially estimated to cost just $50,000 to build, although this figure soon ballooned to over $600,000 once recommendations from the project's architect and consultants were factored in; ultimately, the total cost rose to nearly $1 million. The tower was planned to be complemented by a new church building and community center, although St. Mary's ultimately ended funding for the project. From the beginning, it was conceived as both a historical and a tourist attraction. The tower was originally intended to house a museum to 17th- and 18th-century missionaries as well as be connected to the planned new church building, effectively functioning as its

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

. Initially called the Tower of Missionaries, it was renamed the Tower of History to broaden its appeal to visitors. The tower was initially projected to cover its costs by visitors paying $1 or $2 to experience the view from the observation platforms, but according to parishioner and building committee member Paul Ripley, the unforeseen oil crisis precluded the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

growth that they expected. In 1971, due to the financial problems that St. Mary's was enduring, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette The Diocese of Marquette ( la, Diœcesis Marquettensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church, encompassing all of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical pr ...

assumed responsibility for the tower. In 1972, its operation was reorganized and it became directed by a state-wide

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. Also at that time, the tower employed 10 college students as workers. By 1975, it was attracting over 40,000 visitors a year. In 1979, an advisory board to the Diocese of Marquette's administrative board recommended either closing the tower or donating it to a civic organization. In 1980, the diocese donated it to Le Sault De Sainte Marie Historical Sites, Inc. (Sault Historic Sites). The Tower of History includes museum exhibits about Catholic missionaries,

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

, and

Native American history The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

. The museum exhibits and a video presentation are located on the tower's Lower Level, while three separate viewing platforms (both open-air and glassed-in) and additional exhibit space are located on the Upper Level. The tower features an express elevator that ascends to the viewing platforms in 45 seconds. The Tower of History is open to the public between mid-May and mid-October.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Tower of History
Tower of History
on ''

Atlas Obscura ''Atlas Obscura'' is an American-based online magazine and travel company. It was founded in 2009 by author Joshua Foer and documentary filmmaker/author Dylan Thuras. It catalogs unusual and obscure travel destinations via user-generated content ...

'' Observation towers in the United States Towers in Michigan Museums in Chippewa County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette 1968 establishments in Michigan Towers completed in 1968 Museums established in 1968