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Winter at Grand Traverse in 1998
This beautiful scene at Michigan’s Grand Traverse Lighthouse in January of 1998 shows a tranquil winter setting. However, anyone who’s been there in the winter months knows this is not always the case. The area averages an amazing 106 inches of snow every winter.
Recalling a Relighting
Timothy Harrison, editor of Lighthouse Digest, with Irma Streeter, on October 15, 2006, at the relighting ceremony of Avery Point Lighthouse in Groton, Connecticut. Harrison was the Master of Ceremonies of the event and Irma Streeter, who recently passed away, was a founding member of the Avery Point Lighthouse Society and an active member of the American Lighthouse Foundation. In the background, wearing the hat, can be seen the late Ken Black, founder of the Maine Lighthouse Museum. (Photo by Kathleen Finnegan)
Lynde Point’s Lost Structures
Shown here during the “Golden Age of Lighthouses,” is the Lynde Point Light Station in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The 65-foot tower was completed in 1839 to replace a 35-foot wooden tower that had been built in 1803. The fog bell tower was built in 1854 to replace the bell that had previously been attached to the light tower. We don’t know when the fog bell tower was torn down, but a 1949 photo shows it still standing at that time. In 1966, much to the chagrin of the local historical society, the Coast Guard demolished the beautiful 1858 keepers’ house and replaced it with a nondescript duplex. The tower still stands today.
A Light Tower Built But Never Used
When California’s Farallon Island Lighthouse was completed in 1855, it was realized that the 1st order Fresnel lens that was on its way there to be installed in the lantern would be too large and would not fit. So, the tower was torn down almost as soon as it was completed and a new tower was built, which is the one that stands there today; albeit, minus its lantern. Photos of the first Farallon Island Lighthouse do not exist; there is only this architectural drawing of it. The Fresnel lens that was once used at Farallon Island Lighthouse is now in the possession of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf.
This story appeared in the
Sep/Oct 2023 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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