The Duluth Harbor North Pier Light is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on the north breakwater of the

Duluth Ship Canal The Duluth Ship Canal is an artificial canal cut through Minnesota Point, providing direct access to Duluth harbor from Lake Superior. Begun privately in 1871, it was put under federal supervision and maintenance several years later. It is still a ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, United States.

History

An 1896 project to improve harbor facilities resulted in the reconstruction of the sides of the Duluth Ship Canal, bracketing it in the two concrete piers which define its channel to the present. While the south pier had been equipped with a light from 1874, the north pier was unlit, and given the difficult approach (highlighted by the notorious wreck of the '' SS Mataafa'' in 1905), calls for aids were soon made. A 1908 Lighthouse Board report, in recommending the construction of a light on the north pier, noted that a private aid was already being placed on the pier. Appropriation was made in 1909, and a tower was erected and lit the following year. The design was based on that of the Peche Island Rear Range Light, featuring a short round tower built of steel plates. A fifth-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

from France was installed and lit with a 210-candlepower electric lamp powered from the city power grid. All the lights on the canal were maintained by the same keepers; the head keeper lived in a frame house constructed in 1874 with the

Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light The Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light is a lighthouse on the south breakwater of the Duluth Ship Canal in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It forms a range with the Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light to guide ships into the canal from Lake Su ...

, while the assistants were given a brick duplex in 1913 after years of having to find boarding accommodations on their own. The North Pier Light was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2016 for its local significance in the themes of engineering, maritime history, and transportation. It was nominated for its association with federal efforts to establish nationwide navigational aids, and for being characteristic of early-20th-century pier and breakwater lights built around the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. In May 2021, the U.S.

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

announced that the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

no longer needed the lighthouse and it was eligible to be transferred at no cost to another public agency or non-profit in accordance with the

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension o ...

. If it is not transferred, it will be sold.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1910 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Duluth, Minnesota Lighthouses completed in 1910 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota

History

See also

References

External links