Toledo Harbor Light

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Toledo Harbor Light
Toledo Harbor Lighthouse
Location:	Toledo, Ohio
Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS)	41°45′42″N, 83°19′42″W
Year first constructed:	1901
Year first lit:	1904
Automated:	1965
Deactivated:	N/A
Foundation:	Stone/Concrete Pier on Crib
Construction:	Brick and Steel
Elevation:	72 ft (22 m)
Original lens:	Three and a Half Order Fresnel lens (1904)

The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse is a lighthouse near Toledo, Ohio, in the United States. The lighthouse is built on a 20 foot (6 m) deep stone crib 8.4 miles (14 km) from the mouth of the Maumee River, marking the entrance to the Toledo harbor. It is also approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of Maumee Bay State Park. The construction of the lighthouse began in 1901 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers built the crib in Lake Erie to serve as the base for this lighthouse built miles from shore. The Toledo Harbor Light was built to replace the 1837 lighthouse on Turtle Island at the mouth of the Maumee River.

The Toledo Light is 85 feet (26 m) high, has a 3 story dwelling and is brick with a steel frame. Described as Romanesque, it is a unique lighthouse style of the Great Lakes. The original cost was $152,000. The light was first illuminated on May 23, 1904 by a 3.5 order Fresnel lens that featured a 180-degree bulls eye, two smaller 60-degree bulls eyes and a ruby red half cylinder glass made in Paris by Barbier and Bernard. In 1965, the light was automated by the U.S. Coast Guard and powered by solar cells. To deter vandalism, a uniformed mannequin officer was placed in the window and the boat basin removed.

The lighthouse's original Fresnel lens on display at COSI Toledo.

The Toledo Harbor Lighthouse Society was formed in 2003 as a nonprofit organization to document the history of the lighthouse, preserve the lighthouse and to provide public access.