Milwaukee Pierhead Light

Milwaukee Pierhead Light

Milwaukee Pierhead Light
Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°01′33.63″N 87°53′43.25″W
Tower
Constructed	1872
Foundation	concrete pier
Construction	Steel
Automated	circa 1939
Height	Tower - 41 feet (12 m)
Shape	Conical, decagonal lantern room.
Markings	red w/black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1906
Focal height	13 m (43 ft)
Lens	Fourth order Fresnel
Range	7 miles (11 km)
Characteristic	Red flash every 4 seconds

The Milwaukee Pierhead Light is an active lighthouse located in the Milwaukee harbor, just south of downtown. It is a sister of the Kenosha North Pier Light.

History

The station was established in 1872. It is west of the Milwaukee Breakwater Light, and is near the outflow of the Milwaukee River -- not far east of where that river converged with the Kinnickinnic River -- into the Milwaukee Harbor and Lake Michigan.

This light has a round steel tower with a round gallery and a ten-sided lantern. In 1926, the original 4th Order Fresnel lens was transferred to the Milwaukee Breakwater Light, and that lens is now displayed at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The Fifth Order Fresnel lens -- installed in 1926 -- was removed in 2005. The tower is newly painted circa 2007. The 5th Order lens is said to be on display also at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

According to one source: "The original lantern room had helical bar windows and is believed to [be] the one presently on the Breakwater Light." This is corroborated by the report that the Breakwater Light has a "round cast iron lantern room [that] features helical astragals" in the lantern.

A Submarine cable runs from this light to the Milwaukee Breakwater Light, upon which a lighted danger warning is displayed.

The light was recently painted, circa 2007.

From 1875 until 1926, the light had its own keepers. Thereafter, this light, like all of the lights in the harbor, was serviced by the resident Lighthouse keepers who were stationed at the neighboring Breakwater Light until it was automated.

Getting there

The light is located in downtown Milwaukee, at the end of Erie Street, which leads to a short pier. Parking is available. The pier may be walked, but the tower is closed.

Bibliography and further reading

• Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
• Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
• Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
• Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
• Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
• 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".
• Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
• United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
• United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.

External links

USCG archive photo

• Eckert, Jack, A Small Slice of Life: Milwaukee Breakwater Light Station, Lighthouse Digest (October, 2003).
• Lighthouse Digest, Wisconsin lighthouses, Milwaukee Pierhead Light, University of North Carolina.
• Lighthouse friends, Milwaukee Pierhead Light article
• National Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin - Milwaukee Pierhead Light.
• Satellite view of Milwaukee Pierhead Light, Google earth.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Milwaukee Pierhead Light.
• United States Coast Guard list of Wisconsin lights, including Milwaukee Pierhead Light.
• United States Coast Guard Volume 7, Lightlist (PDF).
• Wobser, David, Milwaukee Pier Head Light, boatnerd.com.

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