I’ve been to the Canadian side of Sault Ste. Marie before I visited the American side because COVID-19 meant that the borders were closed. The Soo Locks on the American side are more difficult to access, so head up the Tower of History to see it after visiting the largest Great Lakes maritime museum on the Museum Ship Valley Camp. If you purchase a combo ticket, you’ll also get to see the River of History Museum at a discount. I highly recommend seeing all three in one afternoon.
But what would you do in the morning?
For starters, there’s the Lake Superior State University’s historic campus. It started out as US Military Fort Brady before being converted into the city’s branch of the Michigan Technological University in 1946. Two decades later in 1966, it became the Lake Superior State College of MTU before being independent in 1970 as today’s LSSU.
Then, there’s the historic water tower just on the corner of campus. It was built in 1894 with brick and stone to contain 364,000 gallons of water. It was restored in 2010 and meets contemporary drinking water standards. As you move closer to downtown, St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral is opposite the Tower of History. Northern Michigan became its own diocese in 1857, but the seat of the diocese moved from Sault St. Marie to Marquette in 1866, so the current church built in 1881 became a pro-cathedral and not a cathedral proper.
