Muskegon Pier Light

Muskegon Pier Light
	Muskegon Pier Lighthouse
Location	Muskegon, Michigan
Coordinates	43°13′35.952″N 86°20′28.544″W[1]
Tower
Constructed	1851
Foundation	Pier
Construction	Cast iron
Height	48 feet (15 m)
Shape	Conical
Markings	Red
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1903
Focal height	50 feet (15 m)
Lens	fourth order Fresnel lens (Sautter & Cie)[2] (original), 12-inch (300 mm) acrylic[2] (current)
Range	6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi)[1]
Characteristic	red flash every 4s
	Muskegon South Pierhead Light
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Architect	U.S. Lighthouse Establishment
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	06000036[3]
Added to NRHP	February 14, 2006

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

This site is accessible to the public by walking through the pedestrian walkway between the NOAA and USCG stations. The lighthouse is available for tower tours during the summer months between Memorial Day and Halloween weekends. Up-to-date hours are available at www.muskegonlights.org

History

Built in 1851, Muskegon's first lighthouse was a brick structure. This Lightkeeper's dwelling was located at the intersection of Beach & Fulton, near the Muskegon channel, and was topped with a wooden light tower in its center. Unfortunately, no known photographs of this structure exist. In 1870, a new one and half story wooden-frame Lightkeeper's dwelling was built and painted white. It was constructed with a short, square wooden tower on the front side of the structure, rising above its gabled roof. Replacing the deteriorating 1851 lighthouse, this structure was built on the same parcel of land and topped with a cast-iron lantern room. The next year, a beacon light was built at the end of the pier, extending out from the channel on the south side with an elevated catwalk. As time went on, the piers were extended even further, and a fog horn structure was built with an elevated catwalk to connect the beacon light to the fog horn in 1899.

The existing Muskegon South Pierhead Light conical steel tower replaced the wooden rear range beacon light in 1903, utilizing the original, historic lantern room from the previous 1870 lighthouse structure.

In 1927, construction began on the arrowhead harbor, which lasted several years. The Muskegon South Breakwater Light was temporary established in 1929 and the steel, pyramidal-designed tower and fog horn were completed in 1930 to mark the outer end of the breakwall. In 1931, the Muskegon South Pierhead Light fog horn, catwalk and extension were removed and the piers were shortened, leaving the pier at the length visible today.

The lights were declared excess property by the U.S. Government in 2008, and a notice was sent out nationwide, seeking a new caretaker. In 2010, after completing a lengthy application process, the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy (MLC) was awarded possession of both the Muskegon South Pierhead Light (1903) and the Muskegon South Breakwater Light (1930) through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. With the help of local volunteers, the Muskegon South Pierhead Light began limited public openings in 2013, and by 2015, regularly scheduled public tours were offered.

Restoration, preservation and public accessibility efforts are ongoing at both the Muskegon South Pierhead Light and Muskegon South Breakwater Light, in addition to the Alpena Lighthouse.

Description

The Muskegon South Pierhead Light is a round cast iron tower located at the end of the southern pier. The entire lighthouse is painted red.[4]

References

Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2010. p. 174.
Terry Pepper. "Seeing The Light - Muskegon Pier Lighthouse". terrypepper.com. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

External links

Media related to Muskegon Pier Light at Wikimedia Commons
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy
Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Muskegon South Pier Light
The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[uscg7-1] Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2010. p. 174.

[pepper-2] Terry Pepper. "Seeing The Light - Muskegon Pier Lighthouse". terrypepper.com. Retrieved 8 August 2010.

[nris-3] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[row-4] Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lighthouses in Michigan
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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
Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan Wixom Lake, Musselman Island lighthouse

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Muskegon Pier Light

History

Description

See also

References

External links