The picturesque lighthouse, perched on a 130-foot cliff overlooking the world's largest lake, began attracting small numbers of visitors within weeks of its opening. However the completion of Highway 61 opened the floodgates to tourism. In 1938 it was estimated that 100,000 visitors stopped by, five times more than any other federally operated lighthouse. Some of the lighthouse keepers' children opened a souvenir stand just outside the station entrance in 1941. Both the U.S. Lighthouse Service and the U.S. Coast Guard which absorbed it in 1939 were obliged to add seasonal staff to help conduct tours.