Grosse Point Light

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grosse Point Light

Grosse Point Light Station
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)		 42°3′50″N, 87°40′33.7″W
Year first constructed: 1873[1]
Year first lit: 1874[1]
Deactivated: 1941[2]
Construction: Brick, steel and glass.
Height: 113 feet (34.4 m)[3]
Original lens: Second order Frensel[2]
Range: Original: 21 miles (34 km)[3]
Grosse Point Lighthouse
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Grosse Point Light (Illinois)
Grosse Point Light
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Coordinates: 42°3′49.77″N 87°40′33.58″W / 42.063825, -87.6759944Coordinates: 42°3′49.77″N 87°40′33.58″W / 42.063825, -87.6759944
Built/Founded: 1873
Designated as NHL: January 20, 1999[4]
Added to NRHP: September 08, 1976[5]
NRHP Reference#: 76000707
Governing body: Local

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.[5] On 20 January 1999, the lighthouse was designated a National Historic Landmark under the jurisdiction of the Evanston Lighthouse Park District, an independent taxing authority.[6][4][7]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Impetus

The United States government agreed to construct the lighthouse at Grosse Point after several maritime disasters near the area showed need for it. Particularly influential was the 1860 sinking of the Lady Elgin, a disaster which purportedly claimed up to 400 lives.[3][8] The citizens of Evanston petitioned the government for the light station during the Civil War but the project was delayed by the war.[1]

[edit] Construction

The project to construct a lighthouse began in 1872, supervised by Orlando Metcalf Poe, who designed the buildings.[9] 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.[1]

[edit] Deactivation

In 1935, the federal government turned over the grounds and the buildings, except for the lighthouse tower and light, to the city of Evanston. The Grosse Point Light Station was decommissioned by the United States Coast Guard in 1941 as a precaution against possible air raids in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the shutdown, the city received the tower and the light, as well.[1] Even so, the lease allowed the government to take the light station back if they ever needed it for official use.[10] The light was reignited in 1945 and has served as a secondary navigational aid ever since.[3] The lighthouse is operated by the Lighthouse Park District of Evanston, Illinois, once known as the Northeast Park District, but since renamed in honor of the lighthouse.[3][1]

The second order Fresnel lens (pronounced [freɪ'nel]) is the largest lens placed on the Great Lakes. It is still in place, which makes it even more unique.[11]

[edit] Grosse Point legends

The site of the Grosse Point Lighthouse is the purported site where Father Jacques Marquette landed in 1674 during his trip down the west side of Lake Michigan to visit various Illinois Native American tribes. This tale is largely anecdotal as there is no real historical proof that this ever occurred.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Grosse Point Lighthouse, (PDF), HAARGIS Database [1], Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  2. ^ a b Grosse Point Lighthouse, NHL Database, National Historic Landmark Program. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e History, Grosse Point Lighthouse. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  4. ^ a b Grosse Point Lighthouse. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  5. ^ a b National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  6. ^ National List of NHLs as of 2007, p. 27. Retrieved on 2007-09-29 from [2].
  7. ^ Donald J. Terras (August 3, 1998), National Historic Landmark Nomination: Grosse Point Light StationPDF (94.5 KiB), National Park Service . Accompanying 9 images, exterior and interior, various dates.PDF (1.01 MiB)
  8. ^ Claims vary as to the exact number killed in the sinking of the Lady Elgin. Estimates of 300 are available in the January 1990 issue of Illinois Issues via Northern Illinois University Libraries. The estimate was reasserted by Northwestern University's Medill News Service on April 15, 1999. An excerpt from the 1860 diary of Fannie Seward indicates that the reports of the day stated 300 dead. However, for every estimate of 300 easily accessible there are others, such as a web page hosted on Stanford University's servers which estimates 470 dead. It is hard to know with any great certainty how many were lost on the Lady Elgin, but it appears stating that up to 400 dead would not be too much of a stretch.
  9. ^ *Terras, Donald J., "Grosse Point Light Station Study", National Historic Landmark, 1999.
  10. ^ a b Grosse Point Lighthouse, (PDF), Illinois Historic Sites Survey Inventory, HAARGIS Database [3], Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  11. ^ *Terras, Donald J., "Grosse Point Light Station Study", National Historic Landmark, 1999.

[edit] External links

[edit] Additional reading

v • d • e
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Park Service logo