With the onset of World War II, the nation's demand for steel created a need for bigger ships, and it became evident that the original harbor breakwater, built in 1887, was too small to accommodate newer ships that were often more than 600 feet long. The Army Corps of Engineers expanded the harbor by moving the old breakwater, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to make annual visits to Agate Bay to reinforce it after Lake Superior's winter storms. In 1970 the breakwater was capped and reinforced, and at the request of the City of Two Harbors Tourism Council it was opened so tourists could walk to the end at their own risk.