Michigan Lights - Big Bay

The Big Bay lantern. 9/17/22 dwm photo

 The Big Bay lighthouse is a half-hour drive northwest of Marquette, Michigan.  

 

 More important is its location half-way between Marquette and the Keweenaw Portage entry; a light was installed at Big Bay to help steamships navigate.

 

 These days, the Big Bay lighthouse is a spectacular location for people to rest and relax.  

 The lighthouse was built in 1897.  It was decommissioned in 1961 and fell into disrepair. It was purchased six years later by a Chicago doctor who turned it into the ultimate lake home.  In 1979 it had a new owner who made it into an executive retreat, which eventually became a bed and breakfast.

Thankfully the owners do open the facility for public tours.  We were at the light before tours were available but were still able to park and walk around outside the white picket fence surrounding the lighthouse.

It's a beautiful building with a gorgeous lantern and one of the prettiest lights I've ever seen.  The oil house and shelter for the foghorn are still on the grounds.

Big Bay is a large lighthouse, originally built as a duplex to accommodate a keeper and assistant with room for their families.   

Lake Superior is between the house and shrubs.

 The tower and lantern stretch 64-feet but combined with the bluff on which it sits, the light is 89-feet above Lake Superior.

 The Big Bay light is beautiful.  If you are near Marquette it is worth a visit or perhaps a stay to fully appreciate it.  

 

 I'm sorry we didn't get inside to enjoy a marvelous view of the greatest lake.

 

Check out other Great Lakes lighthouses by clicking here.  All photos by David Mossner, 9/17/2022.