Wisconsin Lights - Milwaukee Breakwater

Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse
2/3/2018    dwm photo

It is an impressive edifice rising above Lake Michigan.

The last thing boats and ships see when leaving the safety of the harbor and a welcome sight at the end of a long trip.

In the mid 1920s, a prominent light was needed to guide the ocean going vessels which sailed down the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes and on to Milwaukee.

While work on a protective harbor began in the 1880s, by the Roaring '20s the light ships and other navigation aids were not doing the job, so a new light was built.  There is a great history on the breakwater light here.

This trip was the closest I've gotten to the light.

On other trips to a lakefront park, I could see it in the distance, but had a difficult time getting a good picture. From the feet of the harbor pier light, the breakwater light is maybe a quarter mile away.

The lighthouse guards the north harbor
breakwater while another smaller light
stands on the south breakwater.
dwm photo

It was manned until 1966 when the last Coast Guardsmen were removed from duty.  The light, like most on the Great Lakes, is automated.

In 2011, it was auctioned.  A not for profit received it in 2013 and began restoration with an eye to hosting folks from the community and tourists.

It's a long and expensive process - I hope they are able to see it through.

The Breakwater light (left) and North Pier Light.
2/3/2018      dwm photo

In the meantime, it's worth a visit - at least to the shore to see it from a distance.

The house hosted rotating ships of crews for years after keepers and assistants had to endure long days at the mercy of the weather to keep ships safe.

You can see more lighthouses from Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin by clicking here.