This 9.5" x 12" (24 x 31 cm) photograph shows Frank Zimmerman and Chuck Wilcox looking at the Cleveland Heights side of Horseshoe Lake from the dam in 1960. The North Union Shaker Colony settled in 1822 along the Doan Brook in the area of what would become Shaker Heights. In 1829, the Shakers built a gristmill and a dam to power the mill, creating what is now Lower Shaker Lake. In 1852, another dam was built to power a woolen mill, creating Horseshoe Lake. The lakes provide both beauty and recreation for residents of Shaker Heights. The developers of Shaker Heights, the Van Sweringens, planned boulevards with grand mansions around the lakes.

In 1964, the Cuyahoga County engineer proposed two eight-lane freeways to intersect at the Shaker Lakes. Shaker residents were outraged, and battled against the freeway until 1968, when a new federal law prohibited such freeways from being built in public parks. The Shaker Lakes Regional Nature Center was established in 1966, and a nature center building was dedicated in 1969. The 146 acres of parklands were designated a national environmental education landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1971.