Milwaukee Breakwater Light

Milwaukee Breakwater Light

Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°01′37.24″N 87°52′55.14″W[1]
Tower
Constructed	1926
Foundation	Concrete
Construction	1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) steel plate, steel frame, cast iron lantern
Automated	1966[2]
Height	53 feet (16 m)[3]
Shape	Square on square house, topped by round lantern
Markings	white with black lantern & parapet
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, listed in the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places
Fog signal	HORN: 2 blasts ev 20s (2s bl- 2s si-2s bl-14s si). Operates from Apr. 1 to Nov.[6]
Light
First lit	1926
Focal height	67 feet (20 m)[4][5]
Lens	Fourth order Fresnel
Range	14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi)[1]
Characteristic	Fl R 10 seconds[1]
Milwaukee Breakwater Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	South end of north breakwater, .7 miles east of the mouth of the Milwaukee River
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	11000678[7]
Added to NRHP	September 16, 2011

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,[8][9][10] the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

History

This lighthouse, owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard, is an active aid to navigation. The steel tower has a square Balcony and "round cast iron lantern room [that] features helical astragals" in the lantern.[11] The two-story steel lighthouse keeper's quarters are in the art deco style.[12] The structure rests on a 60 by 54 feet (18 by 16 m) concrete pier, which rises more than 20 feet (6.1 m) above the lake's surface.[13] The tower rests 14 feet (4.3 m) above the second floor and is 53 feet (16 m) tall overall. The red light has a focal plane of 67 feet (20 m) feet above Lake Michigan.[5] The lantern and parapet are painted black.[12]

The structure is near the middle of the four-mile-long Milwaukee breakwater. It is built to withstand heavy weather and waves when Lake Michigan becomes roughest. The building is made of 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) "steel plates over a steel skeletal frame, and is equipped with windows and portholes with glass a full half inch in thickness." The structure was originally painted red, but became white thereafter.[11]

USCG archive photo

In 1926, the original fourth order Fresnel lens was transferred from the Milwaukee Pierhead Light.[11] The "helical barred lantern is also thought to have come from the pierhead light".[13] The lens was removed in 1994,[14] and is now an exhibit in Manitowoc at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.[15]

The resident lighthouse keepers serviced not only this light, but all of the lights in the harbor, however boat launching and landing from this structure was especially risky.[11] A list of keepers is available.[16]

In June 2011 the United States Coast Guard declared that they no longer need the lighthouse, and that they will transfer it to eligible organizations, or if none are found, auction it.[17][18] In 2013, Optima Enrichment acquired the lighthouse from the Coast Guard and is currently raising funds in order to open the lighthouse to the public.[19]

Access

The lighthouse is situated on the north side of the harbor at the end of the breakwater. Because the shore and breakwater are disconnected, it is necessary to use a boat to reach it. The best view is from the parking lot at the end of East Erie Street, adjacent to the Milwaukee Pierhead Light.[13] Those who are interested in photographing it will need a telephoto or zoom lens.[20] The tower and site are closed.

References

1. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2014.
2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
3. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
4. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
5. Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes, database".
6. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
7. "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 9/12/11 through 9/16/11". National Park Service. September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
8. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Milwaukee Pierhead (Lake Michigan) Light ARLHS USA-497".
9. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
10. "Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse". Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
11. Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Milwaukee Breakwater Light.
12. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
13. Wobser, David, Milwaukee Breakwater Light Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd.com.
14. Lighthouse friends, Milwaukee Breakwater Light article Note, however, that there are claims that the original lens is still in place. See, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Milwaukee Breakwater Light.
15. Photograph, Milwaukee Breakwater Light Fresnel lens (and others) at Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
16. Tag, Phyllis L., Great Lakes Lighthouse Research, List of keepers, Milwaukee Pier/Breakwater Lights.
17. "Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse, Wisconsin". lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
18. Beatty, MaryAnne. "GSA Making 12 Historic Lighthouses Available at No Cost to Public Organizations Willing to Preserve Them". GSA Website. US General Services Administration. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
19. "Brookfield nonprofit acquires historic Milwaukee Breakwater Light," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel September 16, 2013
20. See, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Milwaukee Breakwater Light.

Further reading

• Eckert, Jack A. A Small Slice of Life—Milwaukee Breakwater Light Station.^[usurped] Lighthouse Digest (October, 2003).
• Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
• Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
• Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ISBN 0-923568-47-6; ISBN 978-0-923568-47-4.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.

External links

• Friends of the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse
• Satellite view of Milwaukee Breakwater Light, Google earth.
• Wobser, David, Milwaukee Breakwater Light Archived 2009-01-07 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd.com