What is it: When visitors arrive at Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial next summer, they will see life-size etchings of the U.S. and British flag ships that fought in the pivotal War of 1812 battle the memorial commemorates.
They can walk along mockups of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s “Lawrence,” and the British “Detroit” inlaid into the sidewalk, understand the size and layout of the boats, and better visualize the battle, a key U.S. victory that changed the course of the war.
“You can see the placement of the mast,” says Rob Whitman, chief of interpretation at Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial. “You’ll see how close the guns were and the amount of room they had. You don’t realize how little room these people had while fighting. I think it’ll really be like what it was like to walk on one of these vessels.”
The etchings are part of a $25 million National Park Service project to repair the seawalls on either side of the park, improve drainage to keep standing water out of the park and off the public road in front of the monument. The work includes sidewalks, which will be lit at night for pedestrians, on the north and south seawalls.
The project: Work on the improvement project began in spring 2022 and continued throughout this past summer. It is expected to be completed this year, and the etchings should be unveiled sometime next spring, Whitman says.
The monument: Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial is one of the most popular attractions on South Bass Island, home to the village of Put-in-Bay. Built in 1915, the Doric column commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie, which happened on Sept. 10, 1813, and the lasting peace between the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
Visitors can take an elevator to the 352-foot-tall structure’s observation deck, as well as learn about the battle in the park’s visitor center.
An estimated 48,500 people went to the observation deck this fiscal year, and park staff estimate that number would have been around 70,000 had a lightning strike not disabled the elevator in July. Whitman is hopeful the elevator might be repaired this season before the park closes on Monday, Oct. 16.
More than 57,000 people stopped by the visitor center, which includes a diorama of the battle, video that explains the battle and other exhibits.
Why is the project important: During recent years of high Lake Erie levels, water has breached the seawall facing Put-in-Bay Harbor and flooded the road, as well as parts of the park. The crumbling seawalls, which in one spot had become disconnected from the bedrock, couldn’t stop sinkholes from forming and standing water throughout the park.
Much of the seawall had been built in the 1970s and repaired in the 1990s, Whitman says. The portion that had pulled away from bedrock dated back to the 1930s.
The new drainage should clear excess water out quickly after a big rain event. The work is very important for the park’s future, as well as ensuring the only road connecting the east and west part of the island is clear from flooding so emergency vehicles can pass, Whitman says.
“If this project wasn’t completed, the wall would continue to deteriorate,” he says. “The cost of every year fixing sinkholes and flooding on the lawn. A lot of work and time goes into cleaning up after storms.”
For information on Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, visit
https://www.nps.gov/pevi/index.htm.