With all the talk about casinos and med marts, it can be easy to forget that Cleveland was founded as a lake-farin’ town, and that the giant freighters that once plied our choppy waters helped create it. Chief among them: the circa-1925 steamship William G. Mather, a 618-foot ore, coal, and grain carrier. Since 1988, the ship has been permanently docked at the East Ninth Street Pier on the North Coast Harbor. The property of the Great Lakes Science Center, the Mather has been thoroughly restored and serves as a maritime museum commemorating those days of ore, er, yore, when steel was king. Now that the ship is reopened for the season, you can take a self-guided tour through its ginormous cargo holds, four-story engine room, elegant guest quarters, and brass-and-oak pilothouse. Along the way, you’ll find more than a dozen new interactive exhibits that tell the story of the Great Lakes. (Guided “behind the scenes” tours can be arranged in advance by special request.) Today’s hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission is $8 for adults, and less for students and seniors. Get your tickets onboard, at the Great Lakes Science Center box office, by phone, or online, where you’ll also find directions, parking instructions, and other important details
— Elaine T. Cicora