Milwaukee Pierhead Light

Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates
Constructed	1872
Foundation	concrete pier
Construction	Steel
Automated	circa 1939
Height	41 feet (12 m)
Shape	Frustum of a cone, decagonal lantern room
Markings	Red with black lantern and parapet
Light
First lit	1872
Focal height	43 feet (13 m)
Lens	Fourth-order Fresnel lens (original), unknown "modern beacon" (current)
Range	7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)
Characteristic	Red flashing light every 4 seconds
Milwaukee Pierhead Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Area	less than one acre
NRHP reference No.	12000971
Added to NRHP	November 2012

The Milwaukee Pierhead Light is an active lighthouse located in the Milwaukee harbor, just south of downtown. This aid to navigation 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.

File:USCGmilwaukeepierhead.JPG

USCG archive photo

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 astragal" 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 1872 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 North Point Light Station until it was automated.

The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012.

Directions

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

File:I-43.svgI-43 to east File:I-794.svgI-794. Take exit(1F)(Lincoln Memorial Drive), proceed north to Michigan Street. Turn right onto Michigan. Turn right onto Harbor Drive and proceed under the interstate to Polk Street. Turn right on Polk, which ends at Erie Street. Turn left on Erie into the parking lot where it ends.

Further reading

• Eckert, Jack A. A Small Slice of Life—Milwaukee Breakwater Light Station. Lighthouse Digest (October, 2003).
• Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
• Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) .
• Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ; .
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) .

External links

• Huelse, Klaus -- Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten -- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View — Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse.
• Satellite view of Milwaukee Pierhead Light, Google earth.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Milwaukee Pierhead Light.
• Wobser, David, Milwaukee Pier Head Light Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd