Grays Reef Light

Grays Reef Light

Location	In northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugashance Island
Coordinates	45°46′0″N 85°9′12″W / 45.76667°N 85.15333°W / 45.76667; -85.15333Coordinates: 45°46′0″N 85°9′12″W / 45.76667°N 85.15333°W / 45.76667; -85.15333
Year first lit	1936[1]
Automated	1976[1]
Foundation	Submerged stone and concrete crib[1]
Construction	Steel, reinforced concrete[1]
Tower shape	Octagonal[1]
Markings / pattern	White with black lantern[1]
Height	65 feet (20 m)[1]
Original lens	Third and a half order Fresnel lens[1]
Current lens	7.5-inch (190 mm)[1]
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).[2]
ARLHS number	USA-343[3]
USCG number
Grays Reef Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	In northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugashance Island
Nearest city	Bliss Township, Michigan
Area	0.6 acres (0.24 ha)
Built by	Greiling Brothers Company
Architect	U.S. Lighthouse Service 11th Dist.; Office of Supt. of Lighthouses
Architectural style	Art Deco
Governing body	Federal
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP Reference #	05001210[4]
Added to NRHP	November 9, 2005

The Grays Reef Light is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugashance Island in Bliss Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[4]

History

In the 1880s, as shipments of iron ore increased through the Straits of Mackinac, shippers began advocating for better lighting of the shoals in the area.^[2] In 1889, Congress appropriated $60,000 to construct three lightvessels to be moored at Simmons Reef, White Shoals, and here at Grays Reef.^[2] The three vessels, designated LV55, LV56, and LV57, were constructed by Blythe Craig Shipbuilding Company of Toledo, Ohio, and were put in service in late 1891. LV57 served for every shipping season on Grays Reef until 1923, when its hull had deteriorated to a point where it was removed from service. LV103 (the Lightship Huron) served on Grays reef from 1923-27, when LV56 was transferred to the station. LV56 lasted only two years until it, too deteriorated enough to be removed from service. LV103 was returned to Grays Reef for the first part of the 1929 season, and was then replaced with LV99.^[2]

By this time, with improvements in underwater construction, it had become feasible to construct a permanent light station on Grays Reef, rather than depending on a moored lightvessel.^[2] In 1934, Congress approved funding for a new station. The Greiling Brothers Company was hired to construct the light station, and work began in the summer of 1934. The structure was finished in September 1936, two months behind schedule and over budget.^[2]

In 1937, a radio beacon and 40 feet (12 m) tower was installed at the station; the tower was removed in 2010.^[5] In 1939, the United States Coast Guard took over operational control.^[2] The lighthouse was manned until 1976, when a solar-powered system was installed. The lighthouse now has a 7.5-inch (190 mm) 12-volt DC acrylic Tideland Signal optic.^[2]

Description

The Grays Reef Light is built to exactly the same plan as the Minneapolis Shoal Light, built at approximately the same time.^[2] The design is a modification of one created by F. P. Dillon and W. G. Will, which was used in Conneaut, Ohio and Huron, Ohio.^[2]

The light sits on a square reinforced concrete pier, 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 64 feet (20 m) on a side.^[6] Atop the pier is a two-story base, 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 30 feet (9.1 m) on a side.^[6] The cellar and first floor in the base were built to house diesel generators, boilers, and compressors to provide power and heat to the light, fog signal, and keeper's quarters.^[2] The second floor of the base housed the keeper's quarters. The lighthouse tower is placed in the center of the building roof. The tower is 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, and tapers from 16 feet (4.9 m) at the base to 10 feet (3.0 m) beneath the gallery. The entire light is covered on the exterior with steel plates.^[6] The lantern atop the tower has helical astragals, and housed a red 3-1/2 order Fresnel lens.^[2]

References

Lighthouses in Michigan Northern Upper Peninsula Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point Southern Upper Peninsula DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island St. Mary's River Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front Portage River/Ship Canal Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights Straits of Mackinac Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Western Lower Peninsula Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer South Manitou Island Waugoshance White River White Shoal Eastern Lower Peninsula Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range DeTour Reef Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point Historical (lost) lights Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights Related Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan