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Manistique East Breakwater Light

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City: Manistique

Region: Upper Peninsula

Established: 1915
Constructed: 1916
Active Beacon: Yes
Federal Ownership: Yes
Accessible to Public: Yes
Accessible for Climbing: No
Museum on Site: No

Established in 1915, the picturesque red Manistique East Breakwater Light is located on the end of a concrete breakwater on the east side of the harbor where the Manistique River flows into Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula.

The tower was constructed of prefabricated steel plates which were bolted together and lagged to the foundation. Square in plan, the tower stood approximately 38 feet tall, and was surmounted by a square gallery upon which a decagonal cast iron lantern housed an electrically powered fixed red Fourth Order Fresnel lens. Within the body of the structure, duplicate electrically powered compressors fed a pair of diaphone fog signals. The work on the station was completed in 1916, and the light exhibited for the first time on August 17, 1916.

The Manistique light was automated in 1969, and the keeper's dwelling sold into private ownership. As part of automation, the Fourth Order Fresnel lens was removed and replaced by a 300 mm Tidelands Signal acrylic optic.

Source: Seeing the Light

Additional Information: www.exploringthenorth.com/manistique/light.html

The first light was built in Menominee in 1877 to guide ships to the Menominee River. The current tower was built in 1927. The 34-foot tower was painted white and integrated with an attached fog signal building. There was an elevated wooden catwalk that stretched along the wooden pier to provide safe access to the light during rough weather.

Some time later, the wooden pier was replaced by a concrete structure. The light was automated in 1972 and at that time the iron catwalk was removed from the pier. The tower was then painted red and relocated to a concrete platform in the center of the crib. The octagonal cast iron lantern room once housed a fourth order Fresnel lens. Today, a 300mm optic lens operates.

Upper Peninsula Tourism & Recreation Association: 800-562-7134
West Michigan Tourist Association: 800-442-2084
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association: 313-436-9150

WMTA · 741 Kenmoor Ave. Suite E · Grand Rapids, MI 49546 · 800-442-2084

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