Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light

Last updated

Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light
Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light.jpg
Near the start of the breakwater
Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light
LocationS. end of breakwater at mouth of Portage R., Torch Lake Township
Coordinates 46°58′8″N88°25′52″W / 46.96889°N 88.43111°W / 46.96889; -88.43111 Coordinates: 46°58′8″N88°25′52″W / 46.96889°N 88.43111°W / 46.96889; -88.43111
Tower
Constructed1919
Constructionsteel tower
Automated1973 [1]
HeightTower - 62 feet (19 m)
Shapeoctagonal
Markingswhite w/ black lantern and red roof
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1920
Focal height68 feet (21 m)
LensFourth order Fresnel lens [2] (original), SABIK LED-350 two-tier lantern optic (current)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) [3]
Characteristic Fl White, 6 sec
Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light
Built1919
NRHP reference No. 14000426 [4]
Added to NRHPJuly 18, 2014

The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, also known as the Portage Entry Light, is a lighthouse located at the south end of breakwater at mouth of the Portage River in Torch Lake Township. [5] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. [4]

Contents

History

The Portage River was first dredged in 1860, and the need for a light to mark the mouth of the waterway was quickly obvious. In 1866, Congress appropriated $7500 to construct range lights at this location, [6] which were constructed in 1868. The Federal government purchased the Keweenaw Waterway in 1891, after which the United States Army Corps of Engineers began a program to improve navigation in the waterway. By 1898, a breakwater and a western pier extending offshore was erected here. [7]

In 1902 a wooden frame tower erected at the end of the pier to house a light. This proved inadequate, and it was replaced with an iron tower in 1911. In 1913, work began on a new harbor inside the waterway, and in 1917 Congress appropriated $100,000 for a suite of new navigational aids, including this lighthouse to mark the outer end of the entrance way. Work on the structures began in 1919, and was completed in 1920. [6] The fourth order Fresnel lens was transferred from the previous pierhead light to this one, and previous lights marking the mouth of the waterway were removed. [7]

The lighthouse was automated in 1973. [1] In 2010, the original Fresnel lens was replaced with a SABIK LED-350 two-tier lantern optic. [7] In 2014, THE Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse was deemed excess by the United States Coast Guard, and in 2016 the Keweenaw Waterway Lighthouse Conservancy was granted ownership. [6]

Description

Lighthouse in 2012. Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light White City Beach, Jacobsville, Michigan.JPG
Lighthouse in 2012.

The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light is located at the offshore end of a breakwater extending southward from shore at the mouth of the Portage River. The structure consists of a timber crib foundation and concrete pier, on top of which is a single story concrete machine room, topped with a three-story octagonal steel tower with a circular lantern. [7] It is a well-preserved example of the typical architecture and engineering methods used to construct lighthouses in the Great Lakes in the time period in which it was built. [4]

The foundation is a rectangular timber crib measuring approximately 32 feet by 50 feet, and 16 feet tall. The crib is constructed of heavy timbers and supported by piles. The crib supports an eight-foot thick concrete platform measuring approximately 32 feet by 50 feet. In the center of the platform is an unpainted single-story rectangular reinforced concrete pier measuring approximately 32 feet by 35 feet; open deck space is to either side. A steel doorway facing the breakwater provides access into the structure. Inside is a rectangular room measuring approximately 19.5 feet by 25 feet. A ladder provides access to the superstructure. [7]

A 16 feet high machine room measuring approximately 25 feet by 25 feet sits atop the pier. This room formerly held the machinery used to operate the lighthouse. The exterior of the machine room has molded concrete, classical revival wrap-around pilasters at each corner and A projecting classical revival molded concrete cornice across the top with a parapet above. A rectangular double doorway facing the concrete pier's rooftop deck is in one side of the room. The other three sides each have two rectangular windows, approximately five feet tall by three feet wide. The interior of the machine room measures approximately 22 feet by 22 feet, and a ladder in the center provides access to the tower above. [7]

The light tower on top of the machine room is a white-painted octagonal steel structure approximately 30 feet tall. The lower level of the tower is approximately 16 feet in diameter, and is slightly wider than the upper level. Eight 12-inch wide stylized Tuscan order pilasters are located at the corners of the octagon, and an architrave, frieze, and cornice encircle the edge of the lip above. Another doorway is at the base of the tower. There are two levels above the case, each octagonal and 14 feet in diameter with four windows. [7]

The lantern room at the top is approximately seven feet in diameter and is surrounded by a parapet wall. The original brass pedestal in the center of the lantern room floor supports a modern automated SABIK LED-350 two-tier lantern optic. A door provides access to the lantern galley. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankfort Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Frankfort Light is a lighthouse located on the north breakwater in the harbor in Frankfort, Michigan. The current light was constructed in 1912 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlevoix South Pier Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Charlevoix South Pier Light Station is located on Lake Michigan at the entrance to Lake Charlevoix in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of the south pier/breakwater of the channel leading to Round Lake in the city of Charlevoix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Eagle Harbor Light is an operational lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, in Keweenaw County in the state of Michigan. It sits on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor and is one of several light stations that guide mariners on Lake Superior across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The original lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the present red brick structure, which is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saginaw River Rear Range Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The first Saginaw River lighthouse was constructed from 1839 to 1841, in a period when large quantities of lumber were being harvested and shipped from the heart of Michigan via river and the Great Lakes to the East Coast of the United States via the Erie Canal and Hudson River. This connection to major eastern markets was critical to the development of central Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Light</span> Lighthouse

Oswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation located off the coast of Oswego, New York. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a 2,000-foot-long (610 m) breakwater at mouth of Oswego River, extending one-half mile (0.80 km) out onto Lake Ontario. It is accessible by boat or from land over the abutting breakwater. It is not open to the public. It is owned by the City of Oswego and operated by the United States Coast Guard. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manitou Island Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milwaukee Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse

The Milwaukee Breakwater lighthouse was built in 1926 in the harbor of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin to mark the entrance to the harbor. One of the last fully enclosed breakwater lighthouses in the Great Lakes, the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manistique East Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Manistique East Breakwater Light is a lighthouse is located in the harbor of Manistique, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskegon Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Muskegon Breakwater Light or South Breakwater Light is a light located on the end of the south arm of the Muskegon breakwater surrounding the mouth of the Muskegon channel in Muskegon, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskegon Pier Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Muskegon South Pierhead Light or Muskegon Pier Light is a lighthouse located on the channel in the harbor of Muskegon, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbor Beach Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is a "sparkplug lighthouse" located at the end of the north breakwall entrance to the harbor of refuge on Lake Huron. The breakwall and light were created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to protect the harbor of Harbor Beach, Michigan, which is the largest man-made freshwater harbor in the world. Harbor Beach is located on the eastern edge of the Thumb of Huron County, in the state of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock of Ages Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping approximately 2.25 miles (3.62 km) west of Washington Island and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan. It is an active aid to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand Point Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Sand Point Lighthouse is located in Escanaba, Michigan, United States, on Lake Michigan's northern shore. Since 1989, it has been an unofficial aid to navigation. Though it is an operational aid to navigation. The restored lighthouse is now open to the public during the summer months. It is also known as the Escanaba/Sand Point Light or the Escanaba Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stannard Rock Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Stannard Rock Light, completed in 1883, is a lighthouse located on a reef that was the most serious hazard to navigation on Lake Superior. The exposed crib of the Stannard Rock Light is rated as one of the top ten engineering feats in the United States. It is 24 miles (39 km) from the nearest land, making it the most distant lighthouse in the United States. It was one of the "stag stations", manned only by men, and had the nickname "The Loneliest Place in the World".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontonagon Harbor Piers Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Ontonagon Harbor Piers Historic District is historic shipping structure located on the Ontonagon River at Lake Superior in Ontonagon, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Bay Harbor Entrance Light</span> Lighthouse in Wisconsin, United States

The Green Bay Harbor Entrance Light is an offshore lighthouse near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Located 10 miles (16 km) from the mouth of the Fox River, it was erected to signal the entrance to Green Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Reef Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Martin Reef Light Station is a lighthouse located in northern Lake Huron, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) south of Cadogan Point in Clark Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights are lighthouses in Michigan at the entrance to the St. Joseph River on Lake Michigan. The station was built in 1832 with the current lights built in 1906 and 1907; they were decommissioned in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light is a lighthouse located at the north end of the Portage River in McLain State Park in Hancock Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light is a lighthouse located on the breakwater at northeast side of Presque Isle Harbor in Marquette, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 "Keweenaw Waterway Lighthouse". Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.[ dead link ]
  3. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 144.
  4. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Program: Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light".
  5. Rowlett, Russ (April 23, 2013). "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  6. 1 2 3 "Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance, MI". Lighthouse Friends.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Daniel Koski-Karell (January 23, 2014), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light (PDF)