The Coast Guard station at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River may be a historic landmark but it has suffered from years of neglect and is very close to the point of no return.

On March 9, 2006 the city held a public meeting and unveiled three options for the 65-year old station, which practically has no roof left and is choked by weeds. Under an $8.5 million plan, the three-acre site would be restored in historic detail and feature a maritime museum, café and perimeter walkways.

A $9.2 million plan features a restaurant, outdoor dining, banquet facilities, a floating classroom and a museum. A third, $5 million plan would convert the site to an educational park.

No one spoke in favor of the third option. Several spoke in favor of the restaurant and museum, according to a report in the Plain Dealer. Others said the difficulty in finding Whiskey Island, the station's remote site and the exposed walk along the causeway make such uses questionable.

The Metroparks taking over is an option only if and when it connects to the Towpath Trail. That's at least five years in the future and the station won't last that long in its current state. 

Preserving old coast guard stations has become a focus around the country, with some successful cases being built on funding for cultural tourism.

A recent effort to save a station in Lansing is being aided by the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. A news article offers that the project to turn the station into a maritime museum could get funding from coastal zone management funds from the state Department of Environmental Quality or a federal grant from Congress as part of a campaign to preserve American cities.

What do you think should be done with Cleveland's coast guard station? Do you know of a good funding source and resources to preserve maritime buildings?

See the city's three proposed schemes for the Coast Guard Station