Grosse Point Light
Grosse Point Light Station
|
|
 |
|
| Location | 2601 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°3′50″N 87°40′34″W / 42.06389°N 87.67611°WCoordinates: 42°3′50″N 87°40′34″W / 42.06389°N 87.67611°W |
| Year first constructed | 1873 |
| Year first lit | 1874 |
| Automated | 1935 |
| Deactivated | 1941 but reactivated 1946 as Private Aid to Navigation |
| Foundation | Stone/Concrete |
| Construction | Cream City Brick encased in concreteItalianate bracketing |
| Tower shape | Frustum of a Cone tower attached to storage building |
| Markings / pattern | yellow w/red trim & red roof |
| Height | 113 ft (34 m) tower |
| Focal height | Focal plane - 119 feet (36 m) |
| Original lens | Second order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens | Second order Fresnel lens |
| Intensity | 68,000 candlepower |
| Range | Original: 18 nautical miles; 34 kilometres (21 mi) |
| Characteristic | 2 white flashes every 15 seconds |
| ARLHS number | USA-359 |
| USCG number |
7-20190 |
|
Grosse Point Light Station
|
|
Undated USCG photo
|
|
| Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000707 |
| Added to NRHP | September 08, 1976 |
7-20190
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. On 20 January 1999, the lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is maintained under the jurisdiction of the Evanston Lighthouse Park District, an independent taxing authority.
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. Particularly influential was the 1860 sinking of the Lady Elgin, a disaster which claimed more than 300 lives. The citizens of Evanston petitioned the government for the light station, but the Civil War (1861-1865) delayed any funding for the project. Lighthouses in Chicago proper were proving themselves insufficient, so there was a perceived need for action.
The project to construct a lighthouse began in 1872, supervised by Orlando Metcalf Poe, who designed the buildings. 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. The building is designed in Italianate architecture.
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), Racine, Wisconsin's Wind Point Light (1880); Outer Island Light (1874) in the Apostle Islands, Little Sable Point Light (1874) on Lake Michigan, Manistique, Michigan's Seul Choix Light (1895) and Spectacle Reef Light.
...
Wikipedia