This painting was great fun splashing watercolor onto the paper, After the paint dried, I selected a lighthouse that fit the space and painted it in. Pen & Ink supplied the smaller details. This is one of my favorites.
Spectacle Reef lighthouse is at the east end of the Mackinac Straits in Lake Huron. It was named because of two very dangerous limestone shoals which resemble a pair of spectacles. The reef is exposed to the whole sweep of Lake Huron especially the ice flows in winter which made it difficult to construct a lighthouse that could withstand the current and ice pressures. Blocks of Marblehead limestone form the solid bottom thirty-four feet of the tower and extend twenty three feet above the lake. The upper portion of the tower was hollow and formed five 14’ diameter rooms one above the other. The 2nd order Fresnel lens first shone June 1, 1874 at the large sum of $406,000. The structure is recognized as a monolith like the Washington Monument. The top two windows were left open at the end of each season so they could climb into the light at the beginning of the next season because the lower part of the light would be covered in ice and they would break out from the inside. in 1972 the lens was removed and is now on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo,MI. May 2014 the light was deemed excess and it was finally sold to a private owner in 2015. For more interesting history go to www.lighthousefriends.com. For prints and cards of the painting above go www.michignlighthoseart.com
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The Holland Pier light started out in 1870 with a white wood structure with enclosed top and open bottom. It had a 5th order Fresnel lens. In 1875 an elevated wood catwalk was installed. This was upgraded in 1901 to a white steel structure with metal walk. Then in 1907, a white very large metal fog signal building with a large loud fog steam whistle and an apartment for 2 assistants above in the gabled upper story and a connective passage connected to adjacent pier light with new 4th order Fresnel lens. In 1936, a smaller square tower was erected between the pair of gables on the fog signal and entire building was painted cream with maroon trim! The change to “Big Red” occurred in 1956 when the entire building was painted bright red. to meet Coast Guard requirements that right side pier lights must be all red. The light was decommissioned and finally signed over to Holland Historical Preservation Society. The 4th order Fresnel lens is in Holland Museum for all to visit. The light had faded to “Big Pink” in 2012 and there was no money to paint it. Two local business stepped up and painted it for free! Go to www.lighthousefriends.com for more detailed history. For prints and cards of Big Red go to website www.michiganlighthouseart.com Above 1913 sketch of white metal pier tower and new fog signal building Current “Big Red” light
Anyone that has taken the ferry to Mackinaw Island has passed by the Round Island Light and have never been aware that there are dangerous reefs on both sides of the north channel between Mackinaw and Round Islands. The red brick lighthouse, now painted red and white with black trim sat atop a pier a 12’ square tower which is part of the northeast corner of a 2 1/2 story dwelling. The 4th order Fresnel lens was first lit May 15, 1896.
Lighthouse keepers lived over a coal fired fog steam whistle in the first floor that could blast 5 seconds of every minute for hours/days. The light served for many years and was decommissioned when Round Island Passage light sat the mouth of the Mackinaw Island Harbor was built. It was signed over to the Hiawatha National Forest in 1955. A storm in October 1972 tore away the lower portion of the southeast corner of the light exposing the interior to the weather. in 1975 various groups began to save the light. Over the years, many groups including the Boy Scouts and Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper’s Assc. have volunteered and restored the light. Thanks to all of these efforts, in 1996, the light shines again as a private navigational aid. The Round Island Preservation Society now permits the light to be open one day a year in July. Prints and cards www.michiganlighthouseart.com/ gallery Big Sable Light is nestled in the dunes and jack pines on Lake Michigan. It was a crisp sunny October afternoon when we took the two mile walk(each way) on a well maintained dirt road to the light. This stunning iron clad black and white light and adjacent keeper’s quarters dominate the shoreline. The light stands 112 ft. tall and was built in 1867. We arrived just after five and the tower was closed and we couldn't climb the tower. Sitting on the bench in front of the light and catching my breath just from the walk, the beauty of day, the sturdy tower and rolling Lake Michigan filled the senses. Well worth the effort! The light is located in a Ludington State Park, 8 1/2 miles north of Ludington,Mi. The park does require a fee or annual pass. The tower and keeper’s quarters are open May-October. You may stay at the light as a volunteer keeper, contact www.splka.com For more history go to www.lighthousefriends.com. Prints and cards available on the website www.michiganlighthouseart.com/gallery.
The Charlevoix South Pier Light was first placed on the north pier in 1885. In 1914, the original wooden light station was moved to the south pier with it's fog bell that had to be rung by hand during foggy days. The structure had a 750' catwalk then.
In 1948, the current tower was lit with a 5th order Fresnel Lens. The tower is square steel structure 41 feet tall and is an active navigational aide. The Fresnel lens has been replaced with a plastic 300mm lens. In 2008, the custody of the lighthouse was awarded to the City of Charlevoix. The light is easily accessible by car. In 2008 the light was still white as show in the Christmas Card, but in 2009/10, the light was painted red. For more history go to lighthousefriends.com/Charlevoix. To purchase a print or cards go to the website: www.michiganlighthouseart.com I have painted this light a few times, and in my research I found an issue of Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper’s Assc. Magazine that featured photos of the top of the tower and it’s fancy Chinese Modern railings. I could not resist painting them to show the extra architectural detail that went into these lights when they were built.
White Shoal Lighthouse is the only red and white stripped lighthouse in the world. The 121’ tall conical light was erected and lit in 1910 to replace a lightship which had marked the shoal since 1891. It had one of the few 2nd order Bi-valve Fresnel Len on the Great Lakes. The light was automated in 1984 and the lens was removed to Whitefish Point Museum. The light is now privately owned and being restored. Go to www.perservewhiteshoal.org to learn more. You may see the light on boat tours from Mackinaw City and get close enough to take pictures. For prints and cards go the website www.michiganlighthouseart.com/gallery I painted the lighthouse and grounds in the golds and oranges of a late afternoon fall sunlight. The foregound foliage is an old fashioned plant call "bittersweet" with it's orange berries which were growing by the lake shore.
The original light was built in 1853, but by 1870, the shoreline had extended, stranding the light over a mile inland to far to be of any use. The current light was bult in 187 5 on the end of the new point. The conical tower and keepers quarters are made of red brick. The 67 foot tall tower was painted the traditional white. The flashing white beacon was produced by a rotation 4th order Fresnel lens. The Tawas Point light was one of the first in the Great Lakes to have an occulting clock mechanism to make the light flash at specifical interval giving the light it's signature wink to mariners. In 1953, the light again too far inland to be more than a costal light. The light was automated and closed., n 1996, the light was deeded to the DNR. It is now part of the Tawas Pt. State Park. The tower is open to the public May-October. It is an easy drive to the tower, but visitors must have a state park passport and there is a small fee to go up into the tower. Go to www.lighthousefriends.com for more history. Prints and cards available on the website. www.michiganlighthouseart.com The Mackinaw Bridge is a lighthouse! The “Mac” was built to connect the two peninsulas and eliminate the need for a rail/auto ferry between them that had been in existence since 1923. Construction began in 1954 and the 5 mile suspension bridge opened November 1, 1957. The day the bridge opened it replaced the Mackinaw Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City as the guide to boat traffic sailing the Straits.
It is a world class structure and must be crossed to be appreciated. For more information and an active webcam check out www..mackinawbridge.org For prints and cards check out my website www.michiganlighthouseart.com Presque Isle is a peninsular about 19 miles north of Alpena, MI. and has an excellent harbor that steamboats used to stop for wood. But the harbor needed a light to show vessels how to enter at night. It was one of the few safe shelters from Fort Gratiot to the Straits of Mackinaw about a 240 mile distance.
in 1840, in a 31’ tall tower with a one 1/2 story keeper’s quarters built just north of the tower, the first light shown from 11 oil lamps set in 14 reflectors to guide ships into the harbor. A 4th order Fresnel Lens was added in 1857. The light was discontinued in 1870 when the new Presque Isle was built a mile north. A pair of range lights was put in place to guide vessels into the harbor. The light was sold in 1897 to a private owner. The lantern room and Fresnel lens were removed. It changed hands several times over the years. In 1961, the owner purchased a Fresnel lens and lantern room and opened the grounds as a museum with guest keeper and wife. This guest keeper is still present as a ghost according to local legend and the light shines with no electricity in the tower. In 1995, the light was sold to Presque Isle Township who maintains it and operates the museum from May-October. For more history about the light go to www.lighthousefriends.com/old Presque light. For prints and cards check www.michiganlighthouseart.com The Manistee River has a long history of light signals. As the port became busier it went from 1870 land based wood keeper’s quarters with a light tower at one end with smaller pier lights and later a fog signal to an extended piers with a three light system. The 1870 light burnt the same year and was rebuilt in 1871. As the piers went further into Lake Michigan, in 1875, the south pier light was built. In 1894 , the lighthouse was reestablished and a 5th order Fresnel lens installed. The south pier light was moved to the north pier and a wooden catwalk was added. More changes occurred as the trade of wood products increased. In 1927, the current steel clad conical black and white tower which stands 39’ and fitted with a 10 sided lantern room and optic light was built. A catwalk was built of steel and wire to aid the keeper’s access to the second floor in bad weather. ( one of 5 catwalks still in existence on Lk. Mi.)
The Coast Guard deeded the light to the Manistee City Historical Society, in 2011, to restore and maintain the light. The light is on the end of the north pier head on the shore in Manistee, Mi. and easily accessed. by car. The light can be viewed up close on calm days by walking out on the pier from a nearby public beach. Curious point: the windows on the door of the pier light are actually painted and not real windows. For a more detailed and interesting history go to www.lighthousefriends.com/manisteelighthouse Prints and cards available on the website or in the Gallery. |
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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