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Lighthouses on the Great Lakes?

We are always astounded how many people never think about or realize how many lighthouses are located on the Great Lakes. Most people, when you mention lighthouses, think of the ocean. They are even amazed when you tell them that there are over 100 lighthouses in Michigan alone. They are even more amazed when you tell them that Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water, by surface area, in the world. It is approximately 31,700 square miles. Let's repeat that figure, 31,700 square miles.

It's Not So Ugly After All

The new weather station tower at Michigan's St. Joseph Lighthouse is not as ugly an eysore as had been predicted. However, we still wish it hadn't been built where it was.

Big Sable Ready for Tourists

Michigan's Big Sable Lighthousze, at Ludington State Park, will be open again this year from May 1st to October 31st., Sundays through Saturdays from 10am to 6pm. You will have to walk to the light station (approximately 1.5 miles), and a state park sticker will be required to enter the park to park your car. There is a $2pp donation to climb the tower and there is a wide variety of items in their gift shop.

Oops, We goofed

On page 19 of last month's issue on the story of the Panama Canal Lighthouse, we goofed on the photo caption. It should have read that the tugboat was going past the Gatun Locks Operation Unit, not the administration building. On pages 21 and 22, we stated that the person in the photographs was Jaime Yau, when, in fact, Jaime Yau was the one who took the photograph and we do not know the names of the people in the photographs, other than that they are canal maintenance division employees.

Eating Light

Not Our Endorsement, But Our Readers'

We have had a number of letters from readers telling us about a restaurant they have visited while lighthouse hunting on the West Coast, and we thought we would share the information with the rest of you. It is Roosters Landing at 1500 Port Drive, Clarkston, WA 99403. We have been told that they have their restrooms tiled with tiles from paintings by lighthouse painter Donna Elias. Readers have told us the food is great, and as one writer put it, "the views are unending as a river can be."

Preservation News

Move to Be Saved in Photos

Mike Booher, 58, a volunteer with the National Park Service, has been named the official photographer for the historic move of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Booher, a professional photographer with 18 years of experience is expected to take over 15,000 photographs of the move.

What Is the Height of Cape Hatteras?

Just how tall is America's tallest lighthouse? The National Park Service's 1994 Inventory of Historic Light Stations says the tower is 208 feet tall, a figure which appears in many books and articles about the light. Current navigation charts indicate the tower to be 191 feet, while others claim the tower is actually 198 feet tall. According to Steve Harrison of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, they measured the tower two years ago and found it to be 198 feet 8 inches. Actually, the 191 feet figure would be correct since that's the height of the lighthouse's focal plane, the distance of the beam above sea level. Apparently somebody, somewhere, once used the 208 figure in a book or article, and everyone else kept using that figure in everything else that was ever written about the lighthouse. No matter what, even at 198 feet high, North Carolina's Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is still the tallest in the United States of America.

National Landmark Status

Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, Maryland, and Grosse Point Lighthouse, Illinois have both been officially designated at National Historic Landmarks.

This story appeared in the March 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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