Duluth-Superior is doing pretty well.
The “Gold Coast” of Buffalo, are brownfields now. Same with Cleveland, and Toledo, and all the smaller port cities on Lake Ontario.
The eastern Great Lakes is a shambles of failed cities, and dead businesses. I live in one of them. Went to Marquette MI and it was like I was looking at Oswego, NY. Deja Vu all over again.
That’s a major shipping port and there are a lot fewer of them due to simple market forces. Rather than shipping out of 5 or 6 different ports on the south shore of Lake Superior they ship in and out of about 2. Its the same reason there used to be some 1200 smaller ore carriers on the lakes and there are only a couple dozen large carriers now.
The great lakes cruises go to smaller quieter towns because they seem to be geared very much to older people. Middle age to elderly people who just want to put their feet up, relax and watch the shorelines go by.