Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light

Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light
Location	Breakwater at northeast side of Presque Isle Harbor, Marquette, Michigan
Coordinates	46°34′27″N 87°22′28″W / 46.57417°N 87.37444°W
Tower
Constructed	1941
Construction	steel tower
Automated	1970s
Height	Tower - 55 feet (17 m)
Shape	round cylindrical
Markings	white with red band
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1941
Focal height	56 feet (17 m)
Lens	375 mm lens (original), LED optic (current)
Range	10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi)
Characteristic	Fl Red, 4 sec
	Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built	1941
Architectural style	Streamline Moderne
NRHP reference No.	16000339
Added to NRHP	June 7, 2016

The Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light is a lighthouse located on the breakwater at northeast side of Presque Isle Harbor in Marquette, Michigan.^[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.^[2]

History

Between 1897 and 1902, the United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed a 1,216-foot breakwater extending southeast from Marquette's Presque Isle to protect the adjacent Presque Isle Harbor. Beginning in 1935, the Corps undertook another major project to improve Presque Isle Harbor by dredging the port and extending the breakwater another 1600 feet.^[4] In conjunction with this project, in 1938 the United States Lighthouse Service announced plans and place an automated lighthouse at the end of the breakwater.^[5] The breakwater project was completed in 1939, and the lighthouse in 1941.

The lighthouse was maintained by Coast Guard personnel stationed at the Marquette Harbor Light until some time in the 1970s, when the Breakwater Light was automated. It continues to serve as an aid to navigation, marking the offshore end of the breakwater.^[4]

Description

The Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse is approximately 55 feet tall, and includes a rectangular concrete pier at the base, an octagonal concrete first story, and three-story steel light tower. The tower is painted white with a red band at the midway point. The light is constructed in a Streamline Moderne style.^[4]

The concrete pier at the base measures 32 feet by 32 feet, and extends approximately 14 feet above the water level, with a flat top deck. The sides of the pier facing the lake curve outward at the top, forming a lip to deflect waves. Atop the pier is an octagonal concrete superstructure, approximately 22 feet wide and 11 feet tall. The superstructure has three windows and a door, regularly placed around the structure. The doorway includes a cast concrete decorative surround that frames the entry on top and sides. The interior of the structure holds three rooms and a closet. A ladder and opening in the ceiling provides access to the tower above.^[4]

The steel plate tower is approximately 30 feet tall, and includes three stories and a small cupola topped with the lighthouse's optic. The lower two stories are shaped like a stylized octagon with four flat and four curved sides. The upper story and cupola are circular. Each floor has three 15" port lights; in addition, the first story has a door, the second holes that once held the resonator horns, and the third a smaller port light. The cupola is approximately 3 feet in diameter, and sits atop the upper story surrounded by a circular open-air gallery.^[4]

References

^ Pattie Durbin, Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light, Lighthouses of Michigan
^ ^a ^b "National Register of Historic Places Program: Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light".
^ Rowlett, Russ (February 13, 2017). "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Daniel Koski-Karell (January 28, 2016), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light (PDF)
^ Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light, Lighthouse Friends

External links

Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light by Dave Wobser Archived 2016-08-17 at the Wayback Machine

[lom-1] Pattie Durbin, Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light, Lighthouses of Michigan

[NPS-2] "National Register of Historic Places Program: Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light".

[rowlett-3] Rowlett, Russ (February 13, 2017). "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[nom-4] Daniel Koski-Karell (January 28, 2016), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light (PDF)

[lhf-5] Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light, Lighthouse Friends

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Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Wawatam
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
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