The lights of Cleveland Harbor

This section of a 1917 chart below shows the lights on the piers and breakwaters at the entrance to Cleveland Harbor. Over the next couple of days, we will take a look at the lights which guided mariners into this important harbor over the years.

In 1830, a contract was awarded to Cleveland businessman Levi Woodbury to build the harbor's first lighthouse. Known as the Cleveland light, it was erected on high ground at the foot of Water Street on the east bank of the Cuyahoga River. Of relatively rough construction, it was typical of the type of lighthouse structure built on the lakes at that time, as seen in this 1858 photograph.

On November 25th 1831, a year after the establishment of the main light on shore, a pierhead beacon known simply as "The Cleveland Beacon" was erected on the outer end of the short east pier at the entrance to the Cuyahoga river. The structure exhibited 4 lamps equipped with 14" reflectors and the lantern was reported to be so so narrow that it made maintenance of the lamps very difficult for the keeper. Shown below is the known photograph of this original Cleveland Beacon.

With the elongation of the east pier at the entrance to the Cuyahoga river and the deteriorating condition of the 20 year old beacon, the decision was made to replace the structure with one of more modern design. To this end the unique 40-foot tall iron beacon shown in the accompanying photograph was erected on the outer end of the east pier in 1851. Originally outfitted with the Argand lamps and reflectors from the old beacon, they were replaced with a more effective fixed Fourth Order Fresnel lens in 1854.

As the 1870's dawned, the forty year old Cleveland Main light was in horrendous condition. The Army Corps of Engineers was planning a complete rebuilding and extension of the two piers guarding the Cuyahoga and with the completion of this project the Lighthouse Board would be required to light the ends of both piers. As such, the Board was facing the need to hire additional keepers to man three discrete lights and the inevitable irritation of providing living quarters for the keepers and their families. To accommodate this change, the decision was made not to request any funds to repair the old main lighthouse, but instead to completely raze the old station, incorporating a taller tower and a large dwelling with separate apartments for up to four men and their families as shown in these original plans for the station.

 

Over 1872, a large crew of workmen toiled to build the structure shown in the accompanying photograph. On completion of construction in January 1873, the new Cleveland Main light was arguably one of the most impressive and elegant light stations built by the Lighthouse Board in the fifty-plus years it would be responsible for the nation’s aids to navigation. With its glistening new Third-and-a-half Order Fresnel lens standing 84 feet above the dressed limestone foundation, the city gas illuminated light stood 154 feet above the water, and was visible for a distance of 10 ½ miles in clear weather conditions.

With construction of the new Cleveland Main light complete, Tenth Lighthouse District Engineer Lieutenant Colonel C E Blunt turned his attention to the deteriorating twenty year old iron beacon on the east pier. With the future elongation of the pier on which it was to be located and the need to relocate the structure in the near future inevitable, Blunt submitted this plan for a free-standing timber frame beacon which could be easily relocated as the need arose to his superiors with the Lighthouse Board in Washington for their approval.

The Lighthouse Board approved District Engineer Blunt's plan for the new Cleveland East Pier light, and the structure shown here was erected at the outer end of the east pier over 1875, with its light first exhibited to guide mariners into the Cuyahoga River on the night of September 1.

 

With the Army Corps of Engineers busy extending the west pier at the entry into the Cuyahoga river, the east pier was not the only area within Cleveland Harbor to receive Engineer Blunts' attention in 1874. Simultaneous to his submission of the plan for the new East Pier light, Blunt also included this plan for a new light to be established on the outer end of the West pier.

 

 Again, the Lighthouse Board approved Blunts' plans, and the structure shown here was erected at the outer end of Cleveland's west pier on the opening of the 1875 season of navigation. The frame building attached to the beacon housed a large bell of three feet in diameter which was operated during thick weather by a clockwork bell striking mechanism.

 

 In 1876, one year after the Lighthouse Board established the Cleveland West Pier light, the Lifesaving Service established a lifesaving station on the west pier between the shore and the pierhead light. Originally a smaller "1875 style" structure, the station was so busy that it was soon rebuilt to handle additional surf boats and an expanded crew, as shown in this 1910 postcard

 With the dawn of the 1880’s the Cleveland harbor was becoming an increasingly hectic place. With the piers protruding out into the lake, entry between them was difficult during foul weather, and with huge numbers of vessels entering and departing, many masters were forced to wait for long periods out in the open lake until dockage was available within the harbor. To help assuage the problem, the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on the major project of constructing a pair of breakwaters running parallel to the shore in order to create a large stilling basin and harbor of refuge.

 By the summer of 1884, work on construction of the first phase of the breakwaters at Cleveland was nearing completion, and Tenth Lighthouse District Engineer C E L B Davis turned his attention to lighting the main entry between the two breakwaters. Since they were already on site building the breakwaters under contract to the Army Corps of Engineers, it is hardly surprising that contractors J A & LP Smith were low bidders on Davis’ advertisement for the construction of a forty foot square timber crib standing 26 feet high to be towed out to the easterly end of the west breakwater and sunk in place with stone to serve as a foundation for the new light. In accordance with the terms of the contract, the Smiths completed the crib in the summer of 1884, but it was allowed to settle a full year before work was scheduled to begin on the lighthouse itself.

Tenth Lighthouse District Engineer C E L B Davis arrived in Cleveland on the tender WARRINGTON on July 28, 1885 and inspected the crib foundation placed on east end of the west breakwater the prior year. Finding it to be well seated and plumb, work began in erection of the lighthouse itself, which took the form of an octagonal cast iron structure standing 27 feet in height and capped with an octagonal lantern housing a fixed fourth order Fresnel lens at a focal plane of 36 feet. A fog bell was suspended from an iron bracket attached to the outer wall of the structure and operated by a clockwork striking mechanism within the tower. Lighted for the first time on the night of October 20, there are unfortunately, no photographs of the Cleveland West Breakwater East End lighthouse in its original condition are known to exist, but it would have appeared virtually identical to this structure which once stood at Oswego on Lake Ontario.

 Between fog and ever thickening smoke from the stacks of industries around the harbor, the bell on the West Breakwater East End was working double time and was practically insufficient for its purpose. At the request of the Lighthouse Board, Congress appropriated the funds required to upgrade the bell to a single steam-powered fog signal on March 2, 1889. A contract for a 30-horsepower vertical boiler, 10-inch whistle and the necessary ancillary equipment along with the construction of a fog signal building, boat house and work room out on the breakwater was awarded in July 1890. Construction on the improved West Breakwater East End light station was completed on October 30 of that year, with the modified structures appearing as shown in the accompanying photograph.

 

 While the fog signal on the Cleveland West Breakwater East End light station proved to be a real boon to mariners during thick weather, its reception by the citizenry of Cleveland was less than than ecstatic, with numerous letters of complaint concerning its moaning at all hours of the day and night being received by the Tenth Lighthouse District office and the Cleveland newspapers. Not immune to the sensitivity of the public, the fog-signal building was modified in 1896 to include a circular concave sound reflector, with the whistle in the center, to lessen the volume of the sound in the direction of the shore, as shown in the accompanying photograph taken immediately after the modification was completed.

While we have thus far focused on the light on the east end of the Cleveland west breakwater, there was a light on the west end of the east breakwater since the initial phase of breakwater construction was completed in 1885. However, in comparison to its mate on the other side of the main gap in the breakwater, it was fairly insignificant, consisting of a lens lantern hoisted to the top of a 20 foot pole. This diminutive structure was changed to something a little more appropriate for one of the busiest harbors on the lakes in 1892 when this 30-foot tall skeletal structure was erected to improve visibility of the west end of the east breakwater.

Its timber construction growing long in the tooth, the Army Corps of Engineers set about resurfacing both the east and west piers at the river mouth with concrete in the late 90’s. With this reconstruction, the Lighthouse Board faced the need to either relocate the 25 year old west pierhead light or build a new structure to replace it. With a focal plane of only 40 feet, the old structures’ small sixth order light was easily lost to mariners among the increasing number of lights within and around the harbor. So Tenth District lighthouse engineer Major T W Symons proposed the erection of a unique 60-foot tall circular timber pierhead light sheathed with metal shingles to replace the aging structure. Estimating the cost of the structure to be no more than $5,000, Congress responded with the necessary appropriation, and the new West Pier Light shown here was erected over the summer of 1900 and its light exhibited for the first time on the night of November 1 of that year.

By 1902, the crib on which the Cleveland West Breakwater East End light was situated was found to be in severely deteriorated condition, and plans were being formulated to rebuild the crib, which would necessitate the temporary removal of the lighthouse structure and fog signal building. Now serving as the primary leading light into the harbor, the decision was made to take advantage of the opportunity to elevate the height of the lighthouse tower in order to increase its range of visibility. This work was undertaken over the summer of 1903, with the accompanying photograph showing the construction crew posing on site immediately after it had been places atop its new twenty foot high octagonal timber base. The light was re-exhibited from this new elevation for the first time on the night of August 24, 1903

A nice color postcard view of the renovated Cleveland West Breakwater East End lighthouse from 1909 light showing the elevated tower.

A circa 1909 color postcard looking out along the West Pier at the entrance Cuyahoga River. This is a particularly interesting image because in addition to showing the Lifesaving station in the foreground, it places most of the Cleveland harbor lights in perspective to each other. At the outer end of the pier beyond the Lifesaving station the cream and brown painted West Pier light is clearly visible. In the distance, just to the left of this tower, you can readily make out the West Breakwater East End light station, while to the right of the West Pier tower you can see the skeleton tower of the East Breakwater West End light. The steamer heading into the opening between the breakwaters makes it plain why all of these lights were so vital to maritime safety.

In 1907 the Army Corps of Engineers began construction of a pair of angled pierheads protruding from the east and west breakwaters designed to provide additional stilling of the waters at the main harbor entrance between the breakwaters. Since federal law required that the Lighthouse Board light all piers, Tenth District Lighthouse Engineer Colonel Henry M Adams set about preparing plans and specifications for lights for both pierheads on completion. Since these lights would serve as the primary leading lights into the harbor, Adams plans called for substantial cast iron structures on both pierheads. This enlargement of a 1917 chart of Cleveland Harbor shows the location of these two angled pierheads and the lights that would eventually be established upon them.

With construction of the new pierheads nearing completion in 1909, temporary pole lights were established on the east and west pierheads on March 25 of that year. Immediately thereafter, a contract for furnishing the metalwork and equipment and erecting the structures themselves was issued to masonry contractors Henahan and King after their bid of $40,000 for the work was found to be the lowest received. The tower on the west pierhead was erected before its adjoining fog signal structure, as shown in this photograph taken during construction.

 

 
The iron tower on the east pierhead consisted of the smaller structure shown here. Since the larger structure on the West Pierhead had keepers permanently assigned to tend it, it exhibited a fourth order lens at a focal plane of 63 feet with a characteristic alternating red and white flash every five seconds. However, since this smaller light on the East Pierhead was automated through the incorporation of an acetylene system with sun valve, it exhibited a group of 3 fast flashes every six seconds from a lower focal plane of 39 feet. Both West and East Pierhead lights were placed into commission for the first time on the night of March 25, 1911.

 

 With the leading lights into the harbor at Cleveland now located on the outer ends of the new pierheads beyond the breakwater, the old fog signal on the east end of the west breakwater was now a considerable distance within the harbor and was no longer providing adequate protection for vessels entering in this weather. Thus, the decision was made to erect a new fog attached to the tower on the West Pierhead, and Commissioner of Lighthouse George Putnam appeared before the Committee on Interstate & Foreign Commerce on June 15, 1913 to plead the case for an appropriation of $17,600 for its construction. Evidently Putnam made a compelling case, as the appropriation was approved on October 22, and the fog signal building shown in this photograph was erected and its diaphone officially reported as being in commission on August 18, 1916

With the commissioning of the new fog signal on the Cleveland West Pierhead in 1916, the crew from the West Breakwater East End light was reassigned to the new station and the light in the old station automated through the installation of an acetylene system. No longer needed, the old fog signal building and boathouse associated with the station were removed from the breakwater, leaving only the elevated cast iron tower marking the outer end of the breakwater as seen in this photograph.

By the late 1930’s, the old timber frame lights on both east and west piers at the Cuyahoga River and the elevated iron tower on the West Breakwater East End had been replaced with standard skeletal iron towers with integrated acetylene sheds. This photograph of the light erected on the end of the East Pier being typical of the type.

The skeletal iron acetylene tower on the outer end of the Cleveland West Pier light as it appeared in 1925. Note the trees that had grown up around the old Lifesaving station further down the pier in an area which was known to local residents as "Whiskey Island."

As an austerity move in 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act which merged the Revenue Cutter Service and the Lifesaving Service to create a new entity known as the Coast Guard, with this new service using the old Cleveland lifesaving station on the West Pier as its area base of operations since that date. In a similar austerity move in 1939, the Bureau of Lighthouses was abolished and responsibility for the nation’s aids to navigation transferred to the Coast Guard. Thus assuming a greater role in the harbor, the Coast Guard found it needed a facility which provided greater capability and presence than that represented by the aging lifesaving station as shown here in a 1936 aerial photograph. (Note the skeletal acetylene light tower on the pierhead.)

 

  Responsibility for design of the new Cleveland Coast Guard station was awarded to renowned Cleveland architect J. Milton Dyer, who had made his mark through design of a number of prominent Cleveland buildings including the City Hall in 1916. Built on the West Pier in 1940, Dyer’s design took the form of a modernistic group of buildings with a tip of the hat to the Coast Guard’s new lighthouse responsibility represented by the tall watch tower at the center of the complex, as seen here in this aerial photograph taken in 1951.

 

 The Coast Guard operated the station on “Whiskey Island” until 1976, when they built new a new facility near North Coast Harbor. The property was later sold to a development company that operated part of the buildings as a night club. While we have read that the City purchased the property in 2003 and had plans for improvements, they were not forthcoming when these photos of the sadly deteriorating structure were taken in 2009.

The two pierhead lights still shine from the original 1911 lanterns, though the structures are deteriorating badly. The light on the East Pierhead is now officially listed as the “Cleveland Harbor Main Entrance Light 1” and the breakwater around the light has been refaced with sheet piling, somewhat obscuring a good view of the diminutive structure as shown here in this photograph taken during our 2011 Lake Erie excursion. The light is now provided by a small solar-powered LED emitting an isophase characteristic green flash of six seconds duration.

 

 The West Pierhead light is now officially listed as the Cleveland Harbor Main Entrance Light. As can be seen in this photograph taken during our 2011 Lake Erie Excursion, while the tower appears to be in relatively good condition, the concrete of the breakwater was deteriorating and the fog signal building was in sadly deteriorating condition. As is the case with the light on the east pierhead, the light has been replaced by a three-tiered solar-powered LED array, which exhibits a characteristic red flash every six seconds.

 In August 2012, contractors were seen removing sections of deteriorated concrete from the pier beneath the Cleveland Harbor Main Entrance light. While we assume that they were preparing to reface the sides of the pier with sheet piling and fill-in with concrete as had previously been done, as of this point we have not had the opportunity to return to Cleveland to see what the end result might have been.

The Chicago connection at Twin River Point

The first lighthouse in Chicago was built in 1831. It was located on the south bank of the Chicago River just to the west of fort Dearborn. Built entirely of stone, the tower was poorly constructed, falling to the ground as construction was nearing completion. The illustration below is from from Harpers Magazine and  shows the lighthouse as it appeared soon after completion.

 

 As the city of Chicago and the number of vessels entering and departing the river grew through 1850’s, protective piers were established at the mouth of the river, effectively relocating the river entry considerably farther to the north of the lighthouse. Now located considerably inland from the new entry point, and frequently enshrouded with smoke from the numerous factories in the area, it is no surprise that old lighthouse was no longer serving as an effective leading light into the river. The 1856 photograph below is the only known photograph of the old Chicago River light, and gives a sense of the growing industrialization around it.

 

 In 1847, a temporary beacon was erected on the North pier to assist mariners locating the harbor entrance. Finally, in September 1851, District Engineer J. D Webster supervised the driving of a network of piles and the sinking of a 47-foot square crib foundation atop them at the end of the pier to serve as a base for a new, improved lighthouse. Work quickly ground to a halt as a result of a lack of funding, and the lighthouse structure itself was not completed until 1858. The location of the lighthouse and detached dwelling are readily visible in the wonderful 1868 “birds eye” illustration of the Chicago harbor below.

 

The tower of the new Chicago lighthouse consisted of an iron central stair cylinder supported by eight iron legs with a network of intermediate cast iron bracing and turnbuckles. Standing seventy two five feet above the surface of the crib the Third Order lens in the lantern stood at a focal plane of 83 feet, and was visible for a distance of fifteen miles. A detached dwelling stood shoreward of the tower, and was connected to the bottom of the central stair cylinder by an elevated covered way, which is ready visible in the following single side of a stereo view photograph of the structure.

 

  The Federal government continued to extend the piers which protected the Chicago River, and by 1870 the 83’ tall skeletal iron tower was located 1,200 feet from the end of the north pier. With increasing industrialization, the smoke which shrouded the city on a daily basis had worsened, and with no respite in sight, Eleventh District Lighthouse Engineer Orlando Metcalfe Poe recommended that the leading light for Chicago be relocated to Grosse Point, in Evanston some 13 miles to the north. The State of Illinois consented to the transfer of land to the federal government in 1871 and the new lighthouse shown below under construction was built on Grosse Point in 1873 and lighted for the first time on the night of March 1, 1874.

 

With the Grosse Point lighthouse serving as the primary leading light guiding mariners toward the Chicago River after 1874, and a pair of small beacon lights marking the outer ends of the two piers, the 1870 skeletal iron tower now served only as a minor marker for vessels entering the river. As can be seen in the following 1885 photograph, the dwelling had been removed and a long stairway added to provide access to the tower from the pier surface. Work was also underway on the construction of a 4,000 foot long breakwater to better protect the river entry and create a 455 acre contained harbor, and with plans to place a major light at the opening in this new breakwater on its completion, the days of the old skeletal iron Chicago River tower on the north pier were numbered.

 160 miles north of Chicago, 11th District Lighthouse Engineer Orlando Metcalfe Poe oversaw the construction of a new light station on Twin River Point in 1873. The lighthouse was built to the same plan as lighthouses at Little Point Au Sable on Lake Michigan and Au Sable Point and Outer Island on Lake Superior. The new lighthouse took the form of a “hundred foot” tower of Cream City Brick with a hip-roofed dwelling of the same material attached to the tower by a covered way. Work at Twin River Point progressed through 1874, with the station’s Third Order lens exhibited for the first time on the night of November 18, 1874. The 1884 photograph below, courtesy of the Woodward Collection, is the only known photo of this original Twin River Point lighthouse.

Contracts for lighthouse construction under the administration of the Lighthouse Board were issued under the “lowest bid” system. As such, any sub contracts issued by contractors for materials were also obtained as cheaply as possible, and it appears that in order to save cost, the Cream City Brick used by the contractor in the Twin River Point tower lighthouse was of terrible quality, containing a high percentage of inclusions and poorly fired during its manufacture. Moisture entering the bricks degraded the masonry as a result of the annual freeze/thaw cycle to the point that by 1890 consideration was being given to razing and rebuilding the entire tower of a more substantial masonry material. By way of example, this photograph of a section of the exterior of the Old Mackinac Point lighthouse shows how such inferior bricks degrade in this manner.

 

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, with work on the new breakwater nearing completion in 1890, work was underway on the construction of a major new light to mark the entrance to the harbor at the split in the breakwater. Known as the Chicago Harbor Light, the new structure is shown in this 1914 photograph. The structure took the form of free-standing crib with a 59 ½-foot conical cast iron tower located at its center and flanked by a pair of corrugated iron fog signal buildings. Simultaneous with the first exhibition of its light on the night of November 10, 1893, the light in the old skeletal iron Chicago River light was permanently extinguished. However, the life of the old 1858 lighthouse was far from over….

 

 With the old Chicago River light no longer serving as an active aid to navigation, and a new tower needed at Twin River Point, District Lighthouse Engineer Milton B. Adams drew up a plan to modify the old Chicago tower for use at Twin River Point. A portion of Adams’ plan for this modification appears below. The statement “Project for enlarging the present Chicago River Tower, making 100 feet to focal plane” can clearly be seen at the upper left.

 In the winter of 1893/1894, District Engineer Milton B Adams awarded a contract to the Vulcan Iron Works in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to cast the new iron components required to increase the height of the old Chicago River lighthouse from seventy-two feet in height to 100 feet. Work in disassembling the lighthouse commenced on June 7, 1894, and by the end of the month, the entire lighthouse had been reduced to its individual components, which were boxed and bundled for shipment to Twin River Point. The lighthouse tender AMARANTH arrived in Chicago in late August with the new components from Vulcan Iron Works on board and the packaged components from the old lighthouse were loaded on her decks and she steamed north to deliver them to Twin River Point.

 

On a site approximately fifty feet to the west of the Twin River Point dwelling, a construction crew had completed excavations was pouring concrete foundations for the eight columns of the old Chicago River tower. By the end of September 1894 the refurbished metal work of the first section had been erected. Over October, 166,000 pounds of iron had been erected, reaching the upper part of the fourth story, completing the structure to the main gallery deck. In November the service room, watch room and lantern were erected, and the illuminating apparatus transferred from the old brick tower into the lantern. Erection of the refurbished skeleton iron tower at Twin River Point was completed on December 1, 1894.

 

Since duplicate 10” fog signals had been established at Twin River Point in 1890, three keepers were now crammed into a dwelling originally designed to accommodate a single keeper and his family. In January 1895, District Engineer Adams oversaw the preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates for modifying the keepers dwelling and the removal of the old brick tower at Twin River Point, and submitted them to the Lighthouse Board in Washington for approval. As seen in the north elevation of his plans below, Adams' design called for an extensive modification and enlargement of the dwelling to incorporate the lower portion of the shortened tower, using the space within the tower as additional accommodations. After receiving Board approval to proceed with the project, the lighthouse tender AMARANTH again returned to Twin River Point, landing a construction crew and all necessary materials at the point on April 10, 1895.

As can be seen in the following “before and after” photographs to the left and right, Engineer Adam's modification and enlargement of the dwelling at Twin River Point was extensive. However as seen in the center image, the heritage of the original 1874 dwelling are still visible if you know the attributes to look for.

 

 The following photograph of the Twin River light station was taken in 1895, immediately after the dwelling modifications were completed. Re-erected and elevated to its new height on Twin River Point, the old Chicago River lighthouse tower now stood at a height of 111 feet from its foundation to the lantern vent, making the Twin River Point lighthouse the tallest shore light on the Great Lakes, an honor it continues to hold to this day.

 

The Lighthouse Board at World's Fairs

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the world's premiere manufacturers came together every few years to show off their newest technology at huge international exhibitions. In 1851, one of the earliest of these, known as "The Great Exposition" was held at the Crystal Palace in London. This contemporary illustration shows the great hall at the exhibition with one of Chance Brothers Magnificent Fresnel lenses prominently displayed.

Chance Brothers Fresnel lenses on display at the 1851 Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London

While the Lighthouse Board was specifically formed in 1852 to improve the administration and technology in US lighthouses, it took almost two decades for them to come close to catching up with the European lighthouse establishments. At the 1862 International Exhibition (again held in London) the Brits proudly showed off this electrically-illuminated Fresnel lens powered by "Holme's Magneto-Electric" lighting system.

 
Holme's Magneto-Electric" lighting system and Fresnel lens at the 1862 exhibition in London

With the International Exposition of 1876 being held in its own back yard in Philadelphia, The US Lighthouse Board seized on the opportunity to show the world the great strides it had taken. In addition to the impressive First Order lens prominently visible to the left, the display also featured a detailed model of the construction crib and tower of the recently completed lighthouse on Spectacle Reef in Lake Huron, which would long be heralded as one of the world's most important monolithic stone engineering achievements.

 
The Lighthouse Board exhibit at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia

In a little over a half century, Chicago soared from a site of a minor frontier military outpost to challenge New York's role as the country's premier city. To herald its "arrival" on the world stage, the city laid plans to host the World's Fair to end all World's Fairs on the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' setting foot in the New World. The site selected for the Exhibition consisted of 600 acres of swampy land along the Lake Michigan shoreline to the south of the city, requiring a massive effort in the dumping of innumerable loads of fill dirt and the driving of untold thousands of timber pilings to create the necessary land and lagoons.

A poster advertising the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago

While the site for the Columbian Exhibition was dedicated on October 21, 1892, the fairgrounds were not actually opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair immediately became known as the "White City" as a result of the white classical exteriors of its many buildings. The "Manufacturers Building" was not only the largest building on the fair grounds, but at 1,687 feet by 787 feet was the largest building in the world at the time. Housing an exhibit space of 44 acres, its central hall spanned 370 feet and soared 211 feet above the ground, providing intrepid visitors this expansive view of the fair grounds and Lake Michigan from an observation platform atop the roof. the appearance of massive permanence of the fair buildings was a total deception, as although built over heavy steel skeletons, their exterior surfaces were constructed of a mixture of plaster of Paris, cement and jute known as "staff," and were only designed to last for the year of the exhibition, to be torn down soon after the fair was closed on October 9.

The view from the observation platform on the roof of the Manufacturers Building

The Government Building at the Columbian Exhibition housed displays from the various federal agencies, showing the wonderful things they were accomplishing with citizen's tax dollars. The Lighthouse Board originally planned on exhibiting in two spaces associated with this building - a 100 foot by 50 foot area within the building itself, and 150 foot square area outside the building adjacent to one of the canals. Unfortunately, finding itself short of the necessary $15,000 cost, the Board had to make do with a significantly reduced space of 50 feet by 24 feet within the building itself and 150 feet by 50 feet outside by the canal at a total projected cost of $5,686.95.

The Government Building at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition 

While only being able to afford a 50 foot by 24 foot display area within the Manufacturing building at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, the Lighthouse Board managed to shoehorn in a fairly significant number of interesting items to show how far they had advanced, as shown in the photograph below of the display. Included were lenses of the hyper radiant, First, Second, Fourth and Fifth orders along with a number lamps, models, plans and photographs.

 
The interior portion of the Lighthouse Board exhibit at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition

The photograph below shows a different view of the Lighthouse Board exhibit at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition. While it had now been 20 years since construction of the lighthouse on Spectacle Reef, it was still considered such an important engineering feat that the model of the crib and tower originally displayed at the 1876 World's fair in Philadelphia was dusted off and proudly redisplayed to the fair's visitors. The paintings on the rear wall featured the illustrious gentlemen who had served as Chairmen of the Board since its founding in 1852

The model of Spectacle Reef lighthouse in the Lighthouse Board exhibit at the Columbian Exhibition

The Lighthouse Board's outside display at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago consisted of a 50 foot by 100 foot area located on one of the lagoons. As can be seen in this photograph, the display was located adjacent to the Lifesaving Service exhibit, which took the form of a fully functioning lifesaving station complete with boathouse, boats and tramway. In addition to a number of different designs of buoys, the Lighthouse Board exhibit included a skeletal iron lighthouse tower erected for the duration of the fair.

 

The exterior portion of the Lighthouse Board exhibit at the Columbian Exhibition

The tower in the Lighthouse Board's outside display at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition dominated the area. The tower had been ordered by the Lighthouse Board to serve as a new rear structure for the Waackaack Range lights in Keansburgh, New Jersey, and its erection at Waackaack was postponed so it could be shipped directly to the Chicago Fair. Designed like a giant erector set, with each of its components identified numerically, it was a relatively simple process to erect the structure for the duration of the fair.

 

The lighthouse on display at the Columbian Exhibition

There has been much speculation as to what happened to the lighthouse tower exhibited by the Lighthouse Board after the 1893 Columbian Exhibition closed. However, there is plenty of primary source material which proves that it was disassembled after the show and shipped to Keansburgh, new Jersey where it was re-erected to serve as a rear tower for the Waackaack range lights, as was the Board's original intention use for the structure. This circa 1910 postcard of the Waackaack rear range tower clearly shows numerous clues which graphically speak to the heritage of the structure.

The tower from the Columbian Exhibition after its re-erection as the Waackaack Rear Range Light 

The US Lighthouse Board was not the only entity to include examples of lighthouse illumination technology at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Here we see an overall photograph of the exhibit of French lens manufacturer Barbier, which displayed its wares in the Electric Building.

 

The Barbier Exhibit in the Electricity Building at the Columbian Exhibition 

As one of a number of suppliers of kerosene for use in lighthouse illumination, even the Standard Oil Company featured a Fresnel lens as part of its display in the Machinery Hall at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exhibition.

 A Fresnel lens in the Standard Oil exhibit at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition

Rock Island - A Thousand Islands jewel

Vessels making their way out down the St. Lawrence River out of Lake Ontario were forced to pass through the narrows to the south of Wellesley Island. A number of small, rocky islands area arrayed across this narrow passage, which made the passage difficult in clear weather and virtually impossible at night or during overcast weather conditions. In order to mark the southerly limit of this channel, a lighthouse was established on Rock Island in 1847. This first Rock Island lighthouse exhibited a fixed light shown from a birdcage lantern centered on the apex of a small stone dwelling. While no photographs of the original lighthouse were ever taken, this old illustration matches the official description of the structure and provides a good idea of how it would have appeared.

The original 1847 Rock Island light station 

By 1875, the old Rock Island lighthouse was found to be in decrepit condition, and the Lighthouse Board issued a request to Congress for an appropriation of $14,000 to completely rebuild the station. Congress turned a deaf ear to repeated annual requests for funds, and it would not be until 1882 that this prefabricated iron tower was erected in the water a short distance from the old, decaying dwelling.

Rock Island light station after it was rebuilt in 1882

Finally in 1884, two years after the new tower was erected at Rock Island, sufficient funding was available to allow the much needed rebuilding of the decrepit forty year old dwelling. Using as much of the original foundation and materials as was practical to keep costs as low as possible, a beautiful Queen Anne style dwelling was erected on the island for the stations keeper. This undated photograph of the dwelling from the Coast Guard Historian's office was clearly taken from the gallery of the tower, which stood approximately from its veranda.

The new Rock Island light station dwelling as viewed from the tower gallery

Also in 1884, a small depot was established on the northeast end of Rock Island for the storage and repair of the many buoys used to mark the channel in that section of the river. With the addition of its large large timber dock, storage shed, crane, buoy car and tracks, much of the tiny island was now covered with buildings.

 The Rock Island buoy depot can be seen on the left side of the island

In 1902, the Rock Island boathouse was relocated onto this substantial timber and stone foundation. In order to provide sufficient depth for the keepers launch, the rock had to be blasted with dynamite before the foundation could be built. Also at this time, the concrete walkways were renewed connecting all the station buildings.

 

The boat house built at Rock Island in 1902

Rock Island light station as it appeared in a colorful postcard postmarked in 1912.

As part of our GLLKA lighthouse excursion in the Thousand Islands in September of 2012, a group of forty lighthouse aficionados boarded a large pontoon boat and took an early morning ride out to Rock Island to tour the light station. As you can see from this photo taken as we made our way toward the lighthouse dock, we were graced with a perfect Thousand Islands morning.

Rock Island light station in 2012

All the buildings at the Rock Island light station were undergoing restoration during our visit, as evident by this claw-foot bathtub sitting upside down on the floor of the station kitchen. The interior of the dwelling is beautiful, and has details reminiscent of the "Arts and Crafts" style.

The kitchen of the Rock Island light station as it appeared under restoration in 2012

While visiting the Rock Island light station our group was able to enter the tower, but a problem with some custom fabricated replacement stair components precluded out climbing the stairs themselves.

The GLLKA group lining up to view the interior of the tower

Because of the previously mentioned stair problems in the tower at Rock Island, we had to satisfy ourselves with this view up into the tower from the entrance level.

 

The view up the stairs in the Rock Island light station tower

With its dynamited slip and crib based walls, the boat house at the Rock Island light station is a wonderful example of early twentieth century field engineering and its excellent condition a real tribute to the workmanship of the 1902 construction crew..

 The Rock Island light station boat house in 2012

 I could have spent the whole day in the Rock Island light station boathouse. With its exposed timber frames, the details are incredible, and I would love to have had the opportunity to climb those stairs to the second floor to explore further.

 

 The interior of the Rock Island boat house

 I fell in love with these fifteen light uppers sashes in the windows at the Rock Island dwelling. The white building visible just outside is a square cast iron oil storage building which was erected at the upper end of the path to the tower in 1905. Its exterior restoration was complete, and it looked as good as the day it was erected.

 

The Arts and Crafts style windows in the Rock Island dwelling

With Rock Island being such a tiny and rocky location, we were quite surprised to see this relatively large area of grasses and greenery between the dwelling and the boathouse. What a great place this would be to sit and watch the world pass by.

 

There was a surprisingly large amount of open area at the center of the island

For our last post on the Rock Island light station, here is a photograph taken in the late evening on a prior GLLKA trip to the Thousand Islands area in October of 2010.

 

 Sunset over Rock Island light station