Cream City bricks are well known for their durability; many buildings constructed with them in the 19th century still stand today. An example of the durability of Cream City brick is Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was built more than 125 years ago. However, since there were numerous brickmakers in the area, brick quality varied and some of the bricks were not manufactured properly: the Big Sable Point Lighthouse was constructed of Cream City brick, but it had degraded so much in 35 years that it had to be encased in iron plating. See also, Grosse Point Light, which had to be encased in concrete.