Grosse Point Light

The historic Grosse Point Light is located in Evanston, Illinois. Following several shipping disasters near Evanston, residents successfully lobbied the federal government for a lighthouse. Construction was completed in 1873. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1976.[14] On 20 January 1999, the lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark.[15] It is maintained under the jurisdiction of the Evanston Lighthouse Park District, an independent taxing authority.[3][16][17]

Grosse Point Light
Grosse Point Light Station
Location2601 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, Illinois
Coordinates42°3′50″N 87°40′34″W
Year first constructed1873[1]
Year first lit1874[1]
Automated1935[2]
Deactivated1941[3] but reactivated 1946 as Private Aid to Navigation[4]
FoundationStone/Concrete[2]
ConstructionCream City Brick[5] encased in concrete[2] Italianate bracketing
Tower shapeFrustum of a Cone tower attached to storage building[2]
Markings / patternyellow w/red trim & red roof[6][7]
Tower height113 ft (34 m)[8]
Focal height119 feet (36 m)[9]
Original lensSecond order Fresnel lens[3]
Current lensSecond order Fresnel lens
Intensity68,000 candlepower
RangeOriginal: 18 nautical miles; 34 kilometres (21 mi)[10]
Characteristic2 white flashes every 15 seconds[7][11]
ARLHS numberUSA-359[12][13]
USCG number7-20190
HeritageNational Historic Landmark, place listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Grosse Point Light Station
Undated USCG photo
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
NRHP reference No.76000707[14]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 08, 1976
Designated NHLJanuary 20, 1999

History

Impetus

The United States government agreed to construct the lighthouse at Grosse Point after several maritime disasters near the area showed need for it. Shoals were a real hazard, and ship traffic was increasing concurrent with development in the Midwest, the growth of Chicago, the aftermath of the Chicago Fire, and the increased trade and exploitation of natural resources throughout the Great Lakes.[10] Particularly influential was the 1860 sinking of the Lady Elgin, a disaster which claimed more than 300 lives.[10][18] The citizens of Evanston petitioned the government for the light station, but the Civil War (1861-1865) delayed any funding for the project.[1] Lighthouses in Chicago proper were proving themselves insufficient, so there was a perceived need for action.[11]

Construction

The project to construct a lighthouse began in 1872, supervised by Orlando Metcalf Poe, who designed the buildings.[19] Most of the construction was completed by June 30, 1873, although the lamp would not be lit for several months. Finally, in March 1874, the light commenced operation.[1] The building is designed in Italianate architecture.[6]

In summer 1865 Colonel Poe became the Lighthouse Board's chief engineer; in 1870 he was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer of the Upper Great Lakes 11th Lighthouse District. In this capacity he designed eight "Poe style lighthouses" and oversaw construction of several. Poe was named District Engineer for the Eleventh Lighthouse District, Those lights are New Presque Isle Light (1870) on Lake Huron, Lake Michigan's South Manitou Island Light (1872), Grosse Point Light (1873) in Evanston, Illinois, Lake Superior's Au Sable Light (1874), Outer Island Light (1874) in the Apostle Islands, Little Sable Point Light (1874) on Lake Michigan, Cheboygan County, Michigan's Spectacle Reef Light {1874} on Lake Huron, Racine, Wisconsin's Wind Point Light (1880); and Manistique, Michigan's Seul Choix Light (1895).[20]

  • New Presque Isle Light
  • South Manitou Island Light
  • Au Sable Light
  • Outer Island Light
  • Little Sable Point Light
  • Spectacle Reef Light
  • Wind Point Light
  • Seul Choix Light

Deactivation and conversion to private aid to navigation

In 1935, the federal government turned over the grounds and the buildings, except for the lighthouse tower and light, to the city of Evanston. In 1941, the Grosse Point Light Station was decommissioned by the United States Coast Guard as a precaution against possible air raids in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the decommissioning, the city received the tower and the light.[1] But the lease allows the government to take the light station back if they ever needed it for official use.[1]

The light was reignited in 1945 and has served as a secondary navigational aid ever since.[10] The lighthouse is operated by the Lighthouse Park District of Evanston, Illinois, once known as the Northeast Park District, but since renamed in honor of the lighthouse.[1][10]

Illinois has two well-known and historic light stations in the Chicago area, plus two pierhead lights.[21] Chicago has no area lighthouse preservation group, and this light has been the primary beneficiary of preservation efforts in the area. The Calumet Harbor Light—just across the border in Indiana, and one of eleven past or present lighthouses in Indiana,[21][22] was demolished in 1995.[21]

Architecture and design

Light tower

The Gross Point Light's primary structure is the conical light tower. The tower stands on a concrete foundation with wooden piles that reach to a depth of 30 feet (9.1 m). The tower's two outer walls include an inner air space between them. The inner wall has a thickness of 8 inches (200 mm) and rises vertically. The outer wall, at a thickness of 12 inches (300 mm), rises at a slight incline and gives the tower its conical shape. The tower begins with a 22-foot (6.7 m) circumference at its base and 13 feet 3 inches (4.04 m) at its parapet. The tower lantern is of glass and iron construction and is topped by a copper sheeting roof.[17]

Lantern and optics

The second order Fresnel lens /freɪˈnɛl/ is the largest lens (one of five) placed on the Great Lakes, which underscores the importance of this light.[4] The lens was manufactured by Henry-Lepaute Company of Paris.[11] It is still in place, which makes it unique;[19] it has been said that this is the single remaining 2nd Order Fresnel lens that is still in place and in service on the Great Lakes.[4]

This is one of only 70 such Fresnel lenses that are still operational in the United States, sixteen of which are in use on the Great Lakes of which eight are in Michigan.[23]

Grosse Point legends

The site of the Grosse Point Lighthouse is the purported site where Father Jacques Marquette landed in 1674 during his trip down the west side of Lake Michigan to visit various Illinois Native American tribes. This tale is largely anecdotal as there is no real historical proof that this ever occurred.[1]

Current activities
The keeper's house with the light behind it in 2020

The light is 13 miles (21 km) north of Chicago, just north of Northwestern University. Notwithstanding that it is outside the corporate limits of Chicago, it is said: "The keeper's house is Chicago's only maritime museum; one fog signal building serves as a visitor center while the other houses a nature center"[21] The dwelling and tower are opened during summer weekends for tours.[24]

See also

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Grosse Point Lighthouse" (PDF). HAARGIS Database. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  2. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Illinois". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  3. "Grosse Point Lighthouse". National Historic Landmark. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  4. Wobser, David. "Grosse Point Light". boatnerd.com. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  5. "Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Grosse Point Light". Archived from the original on 2008-05-29.
  6. "Grosse Point Light". Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  7. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2007.
  8. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18.
  9. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30.
  10. "Grosse Point Lighthouse - History". Lighthouse Park District at grossepointlighthouse.net. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  11. Pepper, Terry. "Grosse Point Lighthouse". Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  12. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Grosse Point (Lake Michigan) Light ARLHS USA-359".
  13. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
  14. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  15. "National Historic Landmarks Survey, National Park Service, Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State" (PDF).
  16. "List of National Historic Landmarks" (PDF). National Park Service. November 2007. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  17. Terras, Donald J. (1998-08-03). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Grosse Point Light Station" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-20. - "Accompanying 9 images" (PDF).
  18. Claims vary as to the exact number killed in the sinking of the Lady Elgin. Estimates of 300 are available in the January 1990 issue of Illinois Issues via Northern Illinois University Libraries. The estimate was reasserted by Northwestern University's Medill News Service on April 15, 1999. An excerpt from the 1860 diary of Fannie Seward indicates that the reports of the day stated 300 dead. However, other sources such as information hosted on Stanford University's servers estimates 470 dead.
  19. Terras, Donald J. "Grosse Point Light Station - National Historic Landmark Study". Maritime Heritage Program, Maritime Landmarks. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  20. David Wobser. "Poe Reef Light". Boatnerd. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17.
  21. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Illinois". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  22. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Indiana". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  23. "United States Coast Guard, Fresnel Lenses Still in Operation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25.
  24. "Anderson, Kraig. Lighthouse friends, Grosse Point Light".

Further reading
  • Andreas, A.T. (1884) History of Chicago from the Earliest Period to the Present Time,
  • Chicago's Front Door, Chicago Public Library Digital Collection, website.
  • Chicago, Scribner's Monthly (September 1875) Vol. X, No. 5.
  • Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. (1995) The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-2554-8 ISBN 9780814325544.
  • Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
  • Karamanski, T. Ed., Historic Lighthouses and Navigational Aids of the Illinois Shore of Lake Michigan Loyola University Chicago & Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, (1989).
  • Longstreet, Stephen (1973) Chicago 1860-1919 (New York: McKay).
  • Lopez, Victor. "This Old Lighthouse: Chicago Harbor Beacon Gets a Facelift." Coast Guard (September, 1997), pp. 24–25.
  • Mayer, Harold M. (1957) The Port of Chicago University of Chicago Press.
  • Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.
  • Rice, Mary J., Chicago: Port to the World (Follet Publishers, 1969).
  • Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ISBN 0-923568-47-6; ISBN 978-0-923568-47-4.
  • Taylor, Paul (October 2009) Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer (Kent State University Press) ISBN 1-60635-040-4; ISBN 978-1-60635-040-9.
  • Terras, Donald (1995). Grosse Point Lighthouse, Illinois: Landmark to Maritime History and Culture (1st ed.). Evanston, Illinois: Windy City Press.
  • Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.

Terras, Donald J. (1995) "Grosse Point Lighthouse: Landmark to Maritime History and Culture" (Hard Cover) (Windy City Press) ISBN 0-9648558-0-1

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