Great Lakes Cities

[lio45]

As someone with no dog in this fight at all, the south shore of Lake Erie doesn't strike me as typical cottage country at all*, but given the length of the shoreline, it's clear that there's got to be some pockets of cottages, when you think about it. It's not like Buffalo-to-Toledo is a fully continuous megapolis.

*unlike, say, Lakes Huron and Superior.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

whats more interesting is the waterfront cottage history on each side of urbanized cleveland that still exists. as you go from vermilion toward cleveland the suburbs become wealthier and upscale housing and etc has pushed out the old cottages past lorain that once dotted the shoreline in the past, but there are some enclave and revamped cottage examples still left among the mcmansion housing, like these in sheffield lake and in avon lake:

Similarly, but to a smaller extent I imagine, along the PA and NY shorelines, I'm noticing that more and more upscale housing is replacing old rustic cottage developments.

There were once many summer weekend-getaway type, rustic cottage/cabin developments dating back to the late 1800s like the one pictured below that are being bought up by "luxury" residential developers.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by lio45

As someone with no dog in this fight at all, the south shore of Lake Erie doesn't strike me as typical cottage country at all*,

No one claimed that it is "typical cottage country".

I imagine that's more of a midwestern term, because I have never heard "cottage country" used in PA or NY.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I'll happily kayak and swim in the "heavily polluted" waters of Lake Erie off of PA and NY many times this summer.

And one of the best things about this terribly awful water is that its temperature won't cause my nuts to shrivel up to the size of peas and my — to turn into a baby carrot.

Because the water will be 80+ degrees!

Thanks for warming the water up so his nuts don't freeze, Cleveland!

[38 Geary]

Originally Posted by subterranean

Lake Huron is deep within flyover country to them. The only reason they're even aware of Lake Michigan is because Chicago is on the water.

I'm continually amazed by just how terrible most people's sense of geography is out here on the west coast, particularly anything east of the Rockies. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin might as well be the same state to them because they all occupy the same place within their smooth-brained mental maps.

I have a theory that west coasters are so convinced that they live in the best place in the US that literally nowhere else matters, so they just have no interest in learning. I'm constantly correcting coworkers where I'm from and I've worked with them for over 5 years.

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I've heard people remark that San Francisco transplants seem to be the most insufferable of all, since the region has never really recovered from being surpassed in size and importance by Los Angeles. LA doesn't even care. It's a completely one-sided rivalry. So SF takes its anger out on the rest of the United States. It's similar to how Boston people like to point out the things they have that NYC does not.

As one of the native Californians you Midwesterners enjoy roasting so much (clearly it gives these two life), I would like to learn more.

What's the big deal about this Lake Erie thing? Is it considered the least desirable of the Great Lakes? Is it the most polluted or something?

Why does a seemingly inert comment about cottages cause such an uproar?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by homebucket

As one of the native Californians you Midwesterners enjoy roasting so much (clearly it gives these two life), I would like to learn more.

What's the big deal about this Lake Erie thing? Is it considered the least desirable of the Great Lakes? Is it the most polluted or something?

Why does a seemingly inert comment about cottages cause such an uproar?

It used to be the most polluted (probably still is, as all other Lakes have gotten cleaner too, no doubt) and it's also the most urban of the Lakes (fairest metric for "lake urbanity" being volume of water / nearby residents) so it'd be logical that it's the least clean still nowadays.

[edale]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Thanks for warming the water up so his nuts don't freeze, Cleveland!

What's your obsession with trolling Cleveland?

If any city is to be called out for polluting Lake Erie, it's Toledo. Of course, most of the pollution entering the lake at Toledo is actually pesticides from the rural hinterlands rather than urban pollution. I don't know enough about this to say it confidently, but I imagine another big polluter of the western edge of Lake Erie is Detroit, given the Detroit River flows south into Lake Erie. Though those impacts might be somewhat muted these days if the sea of heavy industry south of Downtown has been abandoned and is reverting to prairies like the rest of the city

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by edale

I don't know enough about this to say it confidently, but I imagine another big polluter of the western edge of Lake Erie is Detroit, given the Detroit River flows south into Lake Erie.

Oh for sure, that's where all of Metro Detroit's — flows.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by homebucket

As one of the native Californians you Midwesterners enjoy roasting so much (clearly it gives these two life), I would like to learn more.

What's the big deal about this Lake Erie thing? Is it considered the least desirable of the Great Lakes? Is it the most polluted or something?

Why does a seemingly inert comment about cottages cause such an uproar?

It's not a big deal. Yes, Lake Erie is most polluted as it's the most urbanized and by far and shallowest. But it's really just a stigma from decades long past because it was the most industrialized and they dumped everything from toxic chemicals to raw poop into it.

But most industry is long gone and dumping is not permitted and cities have long had tertiary wastewater treatment. Still, the far western of Lake Erie is a shallow basin that is naturally nutrient-rich, but gets overloaded with agricultural runoff (especially after heavy rainfall). The rest of the lake is nothing like it. Lake Erie's waters are quite clean these days. As mentioned earlier, they support the largest commercial and recreational freshwater fishing industry in the US and Canada. There is no commercial fishing industry to speak of in any of the other Great Lakes. They're too deep and cold.

However, it seems that Michiganders have a Superior-ity (get it?? ) complex about it or something. They want to brag that they are THE Great Lakes state or something and that their lakes are the best I guess... I have no idea.

It's probably some offshoot of a "Detroit vs. Cleveland: Who — worse?" rivalry.

And it wasn't an "inert comment about cottages". A claim was made that Lake Erie has no cottages. Which considering that there are 900 miles of shoreline, is an absurd comment. Nor was it an "uproar"; it was factual refutation.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Oh for sure, that's where all of Metro Detroit's — flows.

And it all settles into the western basin (along with a bunch of cow manure flowing down the Maumee)... which is nearly it's own separate lake, once being a part of the long-drained Great Black Swamp.

[MolsonExport]

I've swam many times in Lake Erie. No it is not as clean as say, Lake Huron (where I swim very often), but it is perfectly fine for swimming in most places, and there are many nice beaches. Plus, as others have mentioned, it has the most viable freshwater fishery. The Canadian side of the Lake is mostly small towns and cottage country. There are few cities directly on the lake: Kingsville (21K) Leamington (28K), Port Colborne (pop 20K) and Fort Erie (30K, opposite Buffalo).

[bnk]

A picture of Lake Erie when its not on fire.

https://d2j02ha532z66v.cloudfront.net/wp...9-10-17-at-2.56.38-PM-e1571427891546.png

[subterranean]

As an ex-Michigander, I’d just like to state for the record that most Michiganders have a serious inferiority complex about their state (well, except when it comes to Ohio). It gets ragged on so hard in the national media as a result of Detroit’s history, the crappy weather 6 months out of the year, the winter gloom that puts the PNW to shame, and its mostly flat and barren landscape for much of the LP. There is sort of a brotherly war-beaten camaraderie among us. The lakes are the one thing we can hold onto as precious and good. So yeah, they’re a big deal to current and former residents.

[jmecklenborg]

This hilarious. I went to Put-in-Bay 3 or 4 times when I was a kid but never in foul weather. I can't believe the sight of these tourists having to walk through shin-deep water on the submerged ferry dock!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-QiVcxhi9s

Did you really have to climb the tower? I thought there was an elevator.

This guy didn't go to that house with the cave in the basement. I remember you paid about $3 and some chubby kid took you and about 15 people down his basement steps to see the cave under their house.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Michigan got the Upper Peninsula and Ohio got...Toledo. Who gained more in the long run?

[bnk]

Michigan won that one


https://www.michigan.gov/dmva/about/history/military-events/highlights/the-toledo-war

Michigan eventually became the 26th state of the union, on the 26th of January, 1837. But its territory did not include the Toledo Strip. Instead, it gained title to the western three-quarters of the upper peninsula as compensation; 9,000 square miles of the most valuable timber, iron, and copper country in America.


Today timber iron and copper are no longer processed. But Michigan will still aways have that much more scenic lands by area and being smacked between two of the largest freshwater lakes in world, it still holds promise. • Video Link

Nowadays there is some value in small tourism and a getaway retreat from people from the south to use to cool down in the summer and get away from civilization. But its long-term value is yet to be realized..



And yes, we all know Lake Huron and Michigan are the same lake.

FYI The Caspian Sea is not a real freshwater lake. These lists —.

[bnk]

• Video Link

[Wigs]

The amount of people calling Lake Erie a cesspool in 2023 is hilarious.

As others have stated, the only Great Lake with a viable fishing industry. In Port Colborne they even have a small fish processing plant from all the Perch and Pickerel/Walleye that gets fished. Throughout the year, one can buy fillets of perch and pickerel/walleye or fish and chips from their takeout location.
In warm months the fish was literally caught fresh that week if not earlier.

4 minute video promo of Port Colborne and boating/fishing lifestyle
• Video Link


People have created their own slice of paradise, like this midcentury modern home in Port Colborne overlooking the Lake and modified over the years
• Video Link

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

^I'll also happily eat the Pickerel (I think it's called something else in the States?) and Perch from Lake Erie, a Great Lake so polluted that it's the only one to support a large-scale commercial fishery.

Literally one of the fishing boats of the Perch & Pickerel/Walleye fish takeout, and processing plant in Port Colborne, Ontario I was mentioning in my previous post. Minor's!
https://www.minorfisheries.net/

[lio45]

Originally Posted by bnk

A picture of Lake Erie when its not on fire.

https://d2j02ha532z66v.cloudfront.net/wp...9-10-17-at-2.56.38-PM-e1571427891546.png

Looks great!

(I have determined it to be Toledo, and likely on St. Patrick's Day)