Location | Kenosha, Wisconsin |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°35′19.7″N87°48′30.83″W / 42.588806°N 87.8085639°W Coordinates: 42°35′19.7″N87°48′30.83″W / 42.588806°N 87.8085639°W [1] |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1906 |
Foundation | Concrete pier |
Construction | Cast iron |
Height | 50 feet (15 m) |
Shape | Frustum of a cone |
Markings | Red, black lantern and parapet |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
Light | |
First lit | 1906 |
Focal height | 50 feet (15 m) |
Lens | Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8-inch (250 mm) Tideland Signal acrylic optic Fresnel lens [2] (current) |
Range | 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) |
Characteristic | Red, Isophase, 6 sec [1] |
Kenosha North Pierhead Light | |
Area | less than one acre |
Built by | Office of the Lighthouse; Superintendent, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
MPS | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 08000545 [3] |
Added to NRHP | June 24, 2008 |
The Kenosha North Pier lighthouse or Kenosha Light is a lighthouse located near Kenosha in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. "A typical 'Lake Michigan red tower'", [4] it is a sibling to the Milwaukee Pierhead Light. [5] This light was built in 1906 as a replacement for the old Kenosha Light. [4] It was listed on the National register of Historic Places in 2008. [6]
The station was established in 1856. [5] This pierhead light is one of a succession of lighthouses in this location, which were needed as the structures were destroyed by natural processes, or became obsolete as the piers were greatly extended. [2]
The current lighthouse was built in 1906. It stands 50 feet tall, with a gently tapered shape, topped with a cylindrical lantern. The walls of the tower are cast iron plates. Inside the tower, the first story is 12 feet six inches in diameter. From the first story, a curving cast iron stairway ascends to the second story. The third story contains meteorological equipment which is connected to the lantern above. A steel ladder leads to a trapdoor in the ceiling. The fourth story is the lantern room, which contains a modern acrylic beacon. [7] [8]
Located on the north pier, the pierhead light is listed in the United States Coast Guard light list and the United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System as the Kenosha Light. It currently is painted red, but the lighthouse also has been painted white in the past. [2] The adjacent south pier and breakwater also had lighthouses, but now have cylindrical navigational lights. These included fog signal buildings and elevated iron catwalks, all of which have been removed. [2]
In June 2008, the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse was deemed "excess" by the Coast Guard. Pursuant to the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, it was offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state and local agencies, non-profit corporations, educational agencies, or community development organizations. A deadline of July 21 was created for qualified organizations to express interest. [9] At this time, no organization came forward.
In 2011, the excess property was put up for auction and was purchased by Heather McGee and John Burhani. The lighthouse is currently being used as an art studio and gallery as its name now conveys; Kenosha Lighthouse Studio. Art shows, open to the public, can be found on the kenoshalighthousestudio.com website. The Kenosha Lighthouse Studio is open for individual dinners/meetings and other events.
In Kenosha, cross the bridge to the island on 50th Street, and follow the road down to the beach at Simmons Island. From the beach, one can walk on the pier. The light is accessible for exterior inspection, but not open to the public. [4]
Pottawatomie Lighthouse, also known as the Rock Island Light, is located in Rock Island State Park, on Rock Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Lit in 1836, it is the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan. It was served by civilian light keepers from 1836 to the 1940s, at which point it was taken over by the US Coast Guard.
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.
The Michigan Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by the National Park Service and located on Michigan Island on western Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The Chequamegon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Long Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.
The Ashland Harbor Breakwater lighthouse, also known as Ashland Breakwater Lighthouse, is an operational lighthouse located near Ashland in Ashland County, Wisconsin, USA. Located in Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior, it is owned and managed by the U.S. Coast Guard. It sits at the end of a long and detached breakwater, which creates an artificial harbor.
Kenosha Light is a lighthouse and keeper's house on Simmons Island north of the channel into Kenosha's harbor in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA.
The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin.
The Kewaunee Pierhead lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Kewaunee in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. The lighthouse looks nearly identical to the Holland Harbor Lighthouse, except that it is coloured white.
The South Haven South Pierhead Light is a lighthouse in Michigan, at the entrance to the Black River on Lake Michigan. The station was lit in 1872, and is still operational. The tower is a shortened version of the Muskegon South Pierhead Light, and replaced an 1872 wooden tower. The catwalk is original and still links the tower to shore: it is one of only four that survive in the State of Michigan.
The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse is an automated active lighthouse, and stands at the south end of the northern breakwater protecting the Chicago Harbor, to the east of Navy Pier and the mouth of the Chicago River.
The Milwaukee Pierhead Light is an active lighthouse located in the Milwaukee harbor, just south of downtown. This aid to navigation is a 'sister' of the Kenosha North Pier Light.
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.
The Manistee Pierhead lights are a pair of active aids to navigation located on the north and south pier in the harbor of Manistee, Michigan, "Lake Michigan’s Victorian Port City."
The Menominee North Pier lighthouse is located in the harbor of Menominee, Michigan. The station was first lit in 1877. The current structure and its still operational light was lit in 1927, and automated in 1972. It is also sometimes called the "Menominee (Marinette) North Pierhead Light".
The Michigan City Breakwater lighthouse is located in the harbor of Michigan City, Indiana.
The Old Michigan City Light is a decommissioned lighthouse located in the harbor of Michigan City, Indiana.
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.
Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Light is the inner light of two lighthouses on the south pier of Grand Haven, Michigan where the Grand River enters Lake Michigan. A lighthouse was first lit there in 1839. The lighthouse was put up for sale in 2009 under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The City of Grand Haven now owns the pier, but it is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Light is the outer light of two lighthouses on the south pier of Grand Haven, Michigan where the Grand River enters Lake Michigan. A lighthouse was first lit there in 1839. The lighthouse was put up for sale in 2009 under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The City of Grand Haven now owns the pier, but it is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.
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. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
Media related to Kenosha North Pier Light at Wikimedia Commons