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October 19, 2026
Two longtime waterfront advocates want a "Lighthouse of the Great Lakes" on Cleveland's downtown lakefront: a 500- to 600-foot tower with an observation deck and a museum on all five Great Lakes. We asked 20,000 readers what they think.
Seattle has the Space Needle. St. Louis has the Gateway Arch. Toronto has the CN Tower.
Cleveland has a lot of lakefront, a stadium that's about to be empty, and a question nobody has answered yet: what goes there next?
A few people with real waterfront credentials have an idea. It's tall.
Craig Astler and architect Judy McGlinchy presented their concept publicly for the first time on Sept. 30 at Merwin's Wharf in the Flats, according to a guest column by Paul Heney on NEOtrans.
They're calling it a "Lighthouse of the Great Lakes," but it's less a lighthouse and more a landmark. The vision:
There's no official design yet. The pair showed AI-generated renderings just to give a feel for what's possible. One concept stacked five cantilevered floors on a central shaft, one floor per lake, with water flowing between them. They'd like to see the real thing go to a national or international design competition.
These aren't random folks with a sketchbook. Astler is a retired advertising and PR executive and a former president of the Cleveland Waterfront Coalition, the group behind North Coast Harbor. McGlinchy is a senior associate at Bostwick Design Partnership who worked on the Inner Harbor project as a young architect. Ryan Scavnicky, a professor in Marywood University's School of Architecture, is also part of the push.
Because the land is about to open up. With the Browns leaving for Brook Park in the next few years, Rotterdam-based architecture firm MVRDV is expected to release an updated plan for the entire lakefront on behalf of the nonprofit North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation.
The advocates' goal is to get a monument into that plan. If the timing doesn't work, their backup plan is you: build enough public excitement that leaders feel pressure to include it.
Their bigger argument is that no man-made structure is truly tied to the Great Lakes, which hold about 21% of the world's fresh water. Cleveland also has a comeback story to tell. The Cuyahoga River fire helped spark the modern environmental movement, and the river and lake have come a long way since.
We put it to our 20,000 readers. 80% said yes, build it. The other 20% did not hold back.
The case for:
The case against:
That's the fair question, and the advocates have an answer, even if it isn't a check yet. Astler told NEOtrans that projects like this are usually funded through a blend of philanthropy, corporate contributions and corporate investment. He said a government might guarantee a project like this, but wouldn't pay for it out of tax revenue, and that it wouldn't come at the cost of neighborhoods, schools or roads.
Whether that holds up depends on who steps forward. For now, nobody has.
We're for it. A landmark gives visitors a place to gather and gives the world a new story about us. The skeptics are asking a fair question, though, and whoever builds it will need a good answer.
Watch for MVRDV's lakefront plan and the public feedback sessions that come with it. That's where this idea either gets a spot on the map or stays a rendering.
Buzz Nation, build it, fund it differently, or skip it? Tell us on Facebook.
What is the Lighthouse of the Great Lakes?
It's a proposed landmark tower for Cleveland's downtown lakefront, at least 500 to 600 feet tall, with an observation deck and a museum dedicated to the five Great Lakes. It's a concept, not an approved project, and no official design exists yet.
Who proposed the Cleveland lakefront tower?
Craig Astler, a former president of the Cleveland Waterfront Coalition, and Judy McGlinchy, a senior associate at Bostwick Design Partnership, presented it publicly on Sept. 30, 2026, at Merwin's Wharf. Marywood University architecture professor Ryan Scavnicky is also involved.
Where would the tower go?
On Cleveland's downtown lakefront, as part of the land opening up after the Browns move to Brook Park. Advocates hope it's included in MVRDV's updated lakefront plan for the North Coast Waterfront Development Corporation.
Can you build that tall near Burke Lakefront Airport?
Height is restricted near Burke. The advocates showed maps indicating the southern portion of the lakefront land does not face an FAA height restriction, but Burke's long-term future hasn't been decided.
Who would pay for it?
No funding is in place. The advocates say similar landmarks are typically paid for with a mix of philanthropy, corporate contributions and corporate investment rather than tax dollars.
What do Westside Buzz readers think?
When we asked our 20,000 readers, 80% said Cleveland should build it.
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