Burlington Breakwater Lights

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Burlington Breakwater North Light
Burlington Breakwater North VT.JPG
Burlington Breakwater Lights
Location Burlington, United States OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Coordinates 44°28′50″N73°13′47″W / 44.48056°N 73.229778°W / 44.48056; -73.229778
Tower
Constructed1857  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Foundationbreakwater
Constructionlumber  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Shapesquare pyramid  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
MarkingsWhite  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit2003 (current tower, which is a replica of 1890 tower)
Focal height35 ft (11 m)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Range12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl R 2.5s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Burlington Breakwater South Light OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Burlington Breakwater South VT.JPG
modern replica lighthouse, lit in 2004
Constructed1857  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Foundationbreakwater
Constructionlumber  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Shapesquare pyramid  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
MarkingsWhite  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
First lit2003 (current tower, which is a replica of 1857 tower)
Focal height12 ft (3.7 m)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Range7 nmi (13 km; 8.1 mi)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl W 4s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Burlington Breakwater Lights were originally established in 1857 to mark the ends of a low, detached, two piece breakwater 23-nautical-mile (1.2 km; 0.77 mi) long which protects the Burlington, Vermont harbor from Lake Champlain. [1] [2] [3] The breakwater is on the National Register of Historic Places, [4] but the lights, being replicas, are not. The two lights were replaced and rebuilt several times as fire and ice took their toll. In the middle of the 20th century, the wood towers were replaced by steel skeleton towers. The City of Burlington arranged for Federal funding for replicas of the original towers which were activated on September 12, 2003. [3]

References

  1. NOAA chart #14782 Lake Champlain: Cumberland Head to Four Brothers Islands, 1/40,000 2006
  2. Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 330.
  3. 1 2 Rowlett, Russ (2009-12-26). "Lighthouses of the United States: Vermont". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.