I'm now trying to decide—should it be the Lighthouse, or the Ore Dock?
For many years, I've thought the most photographed/painted/drawn/sketched/sculpted/needle-pointed landmark in the city of Marquette is the city's iconic old Lighthouse--
It's big, it's red, and you can go to any local art or craft store and see many examples of how it inspires the city's creative artists. I'll admit; even though I don't consider myself an “artist”, that I still have hundreds of shots (and more than a few examples of video B-roll) of the structure. It's been like that as long as I can remember, and I'm sure you'll be seeing interpretations of it for decades to come.
But recently, I've been noticing more and more photos/paintings/drawings/sketches/sculptures and needle-points of DSS&A Dock #6, or, as we simply call it, “the Ore Dock”.
In fact, I went around my apartment just now and counted 5 examples (including needlepoint, lest you think I'm kidding) of the Lighthouse, which is probably average for a Marquette resident. But the Ore Dock? 10 pieces of art, including a VERY big photograph taken during “Orehenge”, the twice a year phenomenon wherein the sun rises directly through the empty guts of the structure.
At least in my apartment, and, I'm guessing, most of Marquette, the Ore Dock is now the most photographed/painted/drawn/sketched/sculpted/needle-pointed landmark in the city of Marquette. (And yes, I HAVE seen a needle point of it. I just don't have one).
Why the gradual shift? I'm not sure. One theory I might put forth is that the Ore Dock is a lot cleaner, for lack of a better word, than it was 25 years ago. Before 2000 it was still grungy and, in many people's minds, representative of those old days when trains would be on top it it, belching smoke into the air and disgorging iron ore dust into its chutes. But once the old trestle leading up to it was torn down just after the turn of the century, people seem to have forgotten that it's one of the last remaining signs of the old industrial Marquette. It's now a city icon, something with which we grew up and something without which we couldn't imagine Marquette.
Like I said, that's just a theory. But it could be the reason.
I'm sure neither structure will be lacking in photos/paintings/drawings/sketches/sculptures and needle-points any year in the near future, and perhaps the Lighthouse will once again claim the throne. But for now, it seems like the city has a new artist muse--
DS&A Dock #6.
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