| Alpena Light | |
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| Location: | Alpena, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 45°3′37.5″N 83°25′22.44″W / 45.060417°N 83.4229°W |
| Year first constructed: | 1914 |
| Year first lit: | 1914 |
| Foundation: | Breakwater[1] |
| Construction: | Cast iron[2] |
| Tower shape: | four-legged pyramid skeleton tower |
| Markings/Pattern: | Red Daymark with upper part enclosed |
| Height: | Tower - 34 feet (10 m)[3] |
| Focal Height: | Focal plane - 42 feet (13 m)[4] |
| Original lens: | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens: | 250 mm Tidelands Signal acrylic optic[5][6] |
| Range: | 12 miles (19 km) |
| Characteristic: | Fl R 6 secs.[7] |
| Fog signal: | HORN: 1 blast ev 15s (2s bl). Operates May 1 to Oct. 20.[7] |
| ARLHS number: | USA-007[8][9] |
| USCG number: | 7-11370. |
| Alpena Light | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | End of N breakwater at Thunder Bay River mouth, 150 ft. from shore, Alpena, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | 45°3′37″N 83°25′23″W / 45.06028°N 83.42306°WCoordinates: 45°3′37″N 83°25′23″W / 45.06028°N 83.42306°W |
| Area: | 0.9 acres (0.36 ha) |
| Built/Founded: | 1914 |
| Architect: | US Lighthouse Service |
| Governing body: | U.S. Coast Guard |
| MPS: | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
| Added to NRHP: | March 29, 2006 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 06000197[10] |
The Alpena Light, also known as the Thunder Bay River Lighthouse[11] or Alpena Breakwater Light,[5] is a lighthouse on Lake Huron near Alpena, Michigan. Standing on the north breakwater of Alpena Harbor, the light marks the entrance to the Thunder Bay River from Thunder Bay.[5] The current lighthouse, built in 1914, replaced earlier wooden structures which had been in use since 1877 and 1888.[12] The current light is a weather-protected structure on a steel frame. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, and the state inventory list the same year.[13]
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History and description
The history of the Alpena Lights closely follows the history of the local timber industry. Shipping in and out of the Thunder Bay River has historically concentrated on logs, cut lumber, and rolls of paper and newsprint. The first petition for a lighthouse at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River, from a consortium of men active in the local lumber industry, came in 1857. Other pleas followed.[5]
Congress partly responded to these appeals in 1867 with an appropriation of $10,000 to build a light at nearby Trowbridge Point. After further appeals directly to the United States Lighthouse Board, the Board advised Congress to move the location of the prospective light to the mouth of the Thunder Bay River. This recommendation was a key element in the final location of the Alpena Light. Congress approved the recommendation in 1868.[5]
First and second lights
In August 1875, the first Alpena Light was established as a temporary 25-foot (7.6 m) tall "pole light" approximately ten miles off shore.[13][14]
In 1877, a second light was built from a timber design of Major Godfrey Weitzel. It was a brown wooden pyramidal tower, complete with a Sixth Order Fresnel lens.[5] In July 1888 it burned with much of the town.[13] After it burnt, keeper E.G. Howard—who had managed to save the keeper's house from the conflagration—again put up a temporary pole with a light.[5] The original fog bell from the '1870 light' [sic] is on display at the Huron Lights Museum north of town.[15]
Current (third) light
The current Alpena Light (1914), the third light of that name[12][16], is thought to be the only lighthouse of this type in the U.S.[17] Russ Rowlett of the Lighthouse Directory flatly states that: "this tower is the only surviving example of its design."[18] However, the structure of this light is similar in concept to Lake Superior's Chequamegon Point Light.[19] There are also skeletal towers of various other designs in the western Great Lakes.[20]
Originally painted black, its daymark function was enhanced in 1950 by painting it bright red.[2]
The current lens was installed circa 1996.[13] The original Fresnel lens is presently located at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.[21]
From 1878 to 1965 there were five Lighthouse keepers at this location.[22]
The Alpena Light fog horn has gone through different iterations. In 1891, there was a fog bell with an automated striking mechanism, which was upgraded in 1920 to an electric alarm, and in 1932 to the current modern automated fog horn.[13]
The Alpena Light onshore complex once included a brick oil storage building, built in 1896; it was removed after the light's electrification. The light was automated in 1974.[21]
The current (1914) Alpena Light is 34 feet (10 m) tall; references in some sources to this light being "80 feet (24 m) tall" are factually incorrect.[17][23] Compare the U.S. Coast Guard Light List[7], the Terry Pepper Seeing the Light database of heights,[3] and the Lighthouse Directory.[18]
Getting there
The Alpena Light is best viewed from the transient docks at the City of Alpena’s Marina.[17] It has been variously called "Sputnik"[16] and "Little Red" by locals, Others are dismissive, opining that it is "Long on duty, short on beauty."[17] Another colorful local phrase is, "Don't kick the can."[11]
The light marks the Alpena harbor of refuge and is located just east of downtown Alpena. Visitors are advised (as of 2008) to follow these directions, coming from downtown:
US 23 southbound makes a right hand turn and head south along the lakeshore. That point is the intersection of Chisholm.- Head east (toward the lake) onto East Chisholm Street and locate the marina parking lot. The marina provides a view of the light. A telephoto lens is advised for photography.[24]
The light today
Over the years, this light has been a source of civic pride, and has been the subject of many postcards.[25] The Great Lakes lighthouse festival is centered in Alpena in the second weekend of each October, and this light was used in 1999 as a pictorial cancellation of stamps celebrating the event.[26] Passing freighters in the river get up close and personal with this light.[27]
A scaled down replica of this light was built at Lake Havasu, Arizona.[28] The replica is in Mohave County, Arizona, was sponsored by the County Board of Supervisors, and was built by Members of the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club. It was dedicated on November 5, 2006, and is at GPS:3 4º 26.99' N - 114º 22.38' W. It is on the western tip of Havasu Island.[29], and has a red light that flashes sixty times per minute.[28] See also List of lighthouses in the United States.
As of 2010, the Alpena Light is an active aid to navigation.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Michigan Lighthouse fund, Alpena Light.
- ^ a b Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Alpena Pier Light.
- ^ a b Database, Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/focalheight.htm.
- ^ a b c d e f g Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Alpena Breakwater Light.
- ^ But see, claimed "190 mm plastic optic." U.S. Lighthouses, Alpena Light.
- ^ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Alpena (Lake Huron) Light ARLHS USA-007.
- ^ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights (WLOL).
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ a b Thunderbay National Marine Sanctuary, Thunder Bay River Lighthouse.
- ^ a b Beacons in the Night: Michigan Lighthouse Chronology, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
- ^ a b c d e National Park Service , Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Michigan Lighthouses, Alpena Light.
- ^ Lighthouse Central, Alpena Light Photographs, History and Directions, The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006).] ISBN 0-9747977-1-5.
- ^ Huron Lights museum.
- ^ a b U.S. Coast Guard's complete list of Michigan lights, including Alpena Light.
- ^ a b c d Alpena County Tourist Bureau.
- ^ a b Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, Eastern Lower Peninsula Lights, Alpena Light, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Wobser, David, Chequamegon Point Light, from an article that originally appeared in Great Laker Magazine at boatnerd.com.
- ^ See, List of Tower Types, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ^ a b Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Alpena Harbor Lighthouse.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the LIght, List of Alpena keepers.
- ^ See also Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Alpena Pier Light.
- ^ U.S. Lighthouses, Alpena Light.
- ^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Alpena Lighthouse, postcard views.
- ^ Alpena Light cancellation.
- ^ Picture, ship passing Alpena Light at boatnerd.com.
- ^ a b Photo of Lake Havasu Alpena Light replica.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, Lighthouses of Arizona, Alpena Light replica. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Specialized further reading
Further reading
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External links
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.
- Interactive map of West Lake Huron, powered by Google.
- Michigan.gov website has Map of Michigan Lighthouses.
- Photo of Alpena Light and harbor at Eyefetch.com.
- Rowlett, Russ, Lighthouse Directory, Eastern Lower Peninsula Lights, Alpena Light, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Wobser, David, Alpena Light at boatnerd.com.
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