South Manitou Island Lighthouse is a graceful beautiful tall light located 16 miles west of Leland, MI and in good weather accessible by ferry. This tower was built in 1872 replacing the first light built in 1 832. The conical brick tower is 91” above it’s foundation with a 3rd Order Fresnel lens that shone 17.5 miles out and is one of five “Poe” tall towers in Michigan waters. It is painted white with black trim and Italianate bracketed. It overlooks the Manitou Passage that stretches 300 miles from Chicago to the Straits. 1000 ships passed each day, but it was still dangerous. South Manitou Island was the only safe harbor for large ships in 300 miles.
The light was decommissioned in 1958 and is now protected by the National Park Service and the South Manitou Island Lighthouse Society. The lantern room was restored and a replica 3rd order Fresnel lens was installed in 2008. The light was reactivated in May 2009 and it is lit from May to Nov. For more information go to www.lighthousefriends.com and for prints and cards go to www.michiganlighthouseart.com/gallery
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1834 Kalamazoo River Lighthouse was established on the the Kalamazoo River which flowed into Lake Michigan. This was the Saugatuck lighthouse. This first light was replace when the river bank eroded and a new two story light was erected atop of a dune a great distance from the river in 1859. It was a buff color with white trim. (This structure stood until it was ravaged by a tornado in April 1956 and only it’s 1859 date sign and a few beams were salvageable.)
In 1876, the light was transferred to a new frame structure at the end of the south pier. In 1878 the sand hill it sat on was covered with logs and rocks to keep the sand from drifting. At this time the light had a 5th order Fresnel Lens. The date of this painting is from a black and white photo dating about 1883. This light was discontinued in October 1914. A tiny red and white replica of the 1859 Kalamazoo River light can be seen in Douglas, Mi. For more information go to www.lighthousefriends.com and for prints and cards go to www.michiganlighthouseart.com/gallery The concrete base structure is shaped like the prow of a large ship warding off the ice and crashing waves of Lake Michigan. The pyramidal tower itself is made of riveted steel metal plates. The lantern room now boosts a vibrant green light to bring the large Ludington ferries back to home port. It was established in 1871 and the current light in 1924 which is still an active light.
The pier is easily accessed by car and walking 1/2 mile out on the break wall. If you drive west down the Main Street of the City of Ludington you stop right in front of a lovely city park and water front. The locals and tourists gather to park and watch the sunset behind the pier light most warm summer evenings. For more history go to www.lighthousefriends.com and for prints and cards of this painting go to www.michiganlighthouseart.com. We had gone up to Alpena for the fall tour of the lighthouses in the area. We had signed up for an afternoon boat tour out to the island. But before we could go, Lake Huron became too rough to chance a trip out without guarantee of returning that evening. Staying in the keeper’s quarters without heat, electricity or food overnight didn’t sound like anything we wanted to sign up for, however it became so rough that the skipper decided not to go out at all and take on Lake Huron in a small boat.
Middle Island was originally the site of a very active life saving station built in 1881, about 10 miles north of Alpena, MI.. Behind the island was good anchorage during a storm. The Middle Island lighthouse was built in 1905 in a Victorian style buff-brick and stucco. It had a 4th order Fresnel Lens atop a 71’ tower. A Victorian brick 2.5 story duplex keeper’s quarters with 6 rooms per side was built at the same time. In 1953 the light was painted white with a black band in the middle, In 1970, the black band was repainted in reddish-orange. The lighthouse and life saving station were de-staffed in 1961 The lens was vandalized in the 1960’s., but one panel was returned to the light in 2002 by a man that stole the panel when he was a teen. The light passed to Middle Island Lighthouse Keepers Assc. The fog signal building has been rebranded as the “Keeper’s Lodgel” and is open to overnight guests. Check out more history on www.lighthousefriends.com. For prints or cards go to: www.michignlighthoseart.com Sitting cozy on Christmas Eve 2018 at Big Bay Point Lighthouse looking out over a cold steel blue Lake Superior is the feeling I wanted to give for this painting. This sturdy dark red brick duplex lighthouse has 6 rooms on each side for the keeper and the assistant keeper and their families. This light is 25 miles north of Marquette, Mi. It is very isolated and positioned on a bluff to give it’S light maximum distance for passing ships. The tower stands 64’ tall but add the height of the bluff it stands 89’ above the Lake. it began service in Oct. 1896 and was fitted with a 3rd order Fresnel lens. The station was automated in 1941 and was unmanned after the last keeper in 1945. It past into private hands and has several owners. The lighthouse is currently a bed and breakfast. It is said that the homemade raspberry rolls are wonderful and the accommodations good. For more information go to www.lighthousefriends.com and for prints and cards go to www.michignlighthouseart.com
This painting “Morning Light” showcases the front of the lighthouse’s castle-like architecture that is often missed because everyone is looking at the bridge and the lake. I really enjoyed capturing the sparkling sunlight on the tan brick and stone work.
Mackinaw Pt. Lighthouse was originally the sight for a fog station in 1890 and the MCGulpin Lighthouse Pt. 3 miles west was the original light. In 1892, the Mackinaw Lighthouse became the guiding light for the railroad/passenger ferries running the straits. In 1958, Mackinaw Bridge obsoleted Mackinaw Point Lighthouse as the ferries used the bridge as a light. In 1960, it became the property of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and it is now a maritime museum. Be sure and visit this light which sits are the south end of the Mackinaw Bridge in Mackinaw City. I enjoyed painting the black coal pile and power plant with this small red light celebrating Christmas all by itself in the marina at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River. This was the 2016 Christmas Card and is still available as a card or prints.
The Alpena Breakwater Light in the painting is the 3rd light to mark this spot. In 1877, the first light was built. Alpena was a huge port for paper, wood and millions of wood shingles annually. In 1888, in a horrific fire that started in one of the sawmills on the pier and destroyed 200 homes and floating burning logs destroyed the wooden light. It was rebuilt with an open leg structure and large fog bell that had to be rewound every 2 1/2 hours in bad weather. A black 4 leg pyramid steel skeleton 34’ tower with black cast iron lantern room with a4th order Fresnel lens. In 1950, the light was painted red to make it a more visible day marker. The Fresnel lens was removed to Grand Traverse Lighthouse in 1987. The Coast Guard put the light up for bid and Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy took ownership in June 2011 and is in the process of doing a restoration. For more info www.lighthousefriends.com. Go to www.michiganlighthouseart.com for prints and cards. This was a fun painting to do as a friend’s mother was a lighthouse brat and lived in this light. She tells stories of how much the children loved living here. I have done a Christmas card depicting her and her sister playing in the snow near the lighthouse.
Located north of Harrisville, off Hwy 23, the lighthouse is on the tip of Sturgeon Pt. which extends one and one half miles into Lake Huron, MI. The light began operational in 1870 with a small keeper’s quarters attached. The light is 70’ tall with a large 3 1/2 Fresnel lens. In 1876, a life saving station was built and was in service 24/7 to service the 1000 plus vessels day that sailed the coast during that period. In 1915, the Coast Guard took over supervision. The light was electrified and automated in 1939. The life savings buildings were destroyed. The lighthouse and quarters survived, but were badly vandalized. In 1982, the Alcoma Historical Society took charge of the restoration of the light and put a lovely maritime museum in the keeper’s quarters which is open June - August. The tower is open to climb for a small fee. The grounds are open year round. It is a very scenic drive up the coastline and worth the time to visit it. For more detailed history www.lighthousefriends.com. For prints and cards check out the website www.michiganlighthouseart.com Researching Michigan lighthouse histories and finding why and how they came to be and their peculiarities is part of the fun in painting them, especially lights that are not there anymore. So here is the mysteries of the Monroe Breakwater lights.-
The first painting was done from an old photo in the SOM library archives in Lansing, MI. The old 1859 light was a wooden structure on the end of a breakwater in the Detroit River. The light is only a lantern sitting on a pedestal in a bird cage style top. As you can see the keeper augmented his rations by fishing. The light is no longer in existence and I could not find a written record. The next mystery- this sketch of the 1889 larger Monroe Breakwater Light done from a photo on www.lighthousedigest.com. Monroe was a booming commercial shipping harbor in 1890-1940. The area was a summer resort with a mini-Grand Hotel and amusement park with large Ferris wheel- a Detroit summer vacation spot. This light had a charismatic keeper that welcomed visitors that took small tour boats to visit the light. I could not find any articles or photos online, the Monroe museum or old newspaper articles about the resort or lights. When the entrance to the harbor was moved 10 miles north all commerce went away. In articles, it seems that the light was scrapped for lumber in the mid-1940’s from an old salvage receipt. So if you have heard any family stories about grandparents vacationing in Monroe I would love to hear them. Hope you enjoy the Monroe Mystery. I loved painting this piece. I was developing a technique new to me of using watercolor straight from the tube with just a few drops of water trying to create very rich intense layers of color. The surprise was that in putting down a next layer it also exposed layers of color underneath. Also, I outlined areas of the painting in a vivid bright pink and if you look closely you can see bits of it peeking out.
Pt. Aux Barques translates to “place of small boats”. This very early light was established in 1847 on the tip of the thumb. This was the last safe place to stop before heading across 100 miles of open water to Saginaw Bay. This white 89’ brick tower and keeper’s quarters were built in 1876. This hidden treasure of a light with it’s well maintained maritime museum is in a county park and campgrounds off Hwy 25 on the tip of the thumb. The museum houses a few rare pieces of the original China service with the Lighthouse Services insignia. The Coast Guard ordered anything with the insignia destroyed when they took over in the 1950s. Be sure it include this light in any fall tour you take in the thumb of Michigan. For more history go to www.lighthousefriends.com. For cards and prints go to www.michiganlighthouseart.com |
AuthorMichigan Artist, Anita Saviko, Her goal is to research the histories and paint all Michigan lighthouses/range lights past and present, a total of spprox. 150 lights. Categories
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