Illinois Lights - Waukegan Harbor

The Waukegan Harbor Light. 5/27/2023 dwm

 I was born in Libertyville, Illinois when my parents lived in nearby Mundelein.  Our church, and the place I was baptized was in Waukegan.  This light is the closest thing I have to a 'home' lighthouse.

 

 In 1846, Waukegan, which in the language of the Pottawatomi tribe means trading post, was deemed important enough to merit a lighthouse to direct boats into their harbor.

 

 The first light was built in 1851 with a fresnel lens delivered in 1858.  Breakwaters were extended into the lake on either side of a channel built for shipping.

 

The Harbor Light at the end of the south pier.

In 1899, the metalwork for a permanent tower was put in place.  It was connected to land with a 400-foot
elevated walk for the keeper to reach the lighthouse from his keeper's house.  Originally, a larger structure was attached to the tower.  It was destroyed by fire in 1967 which also destroyed the lantern room on top of the light tower.

 

The decision was made to cap the tower and leave the light exposed (in the close-up shot you can see today's lights (two round discs using LED lighting) exposed to the elements (photo below).

The lights are on top of center pole.

 In my collection of lights, only a few are missing the lantern room.  Sheboygan's light in Wisconsin was the first one I recall, it certainly looked unusual, like a candle stub.

 

 Our visit over Memorial Day weekend coincided with the city beginning a daily parking fee for the beach, $10 a day. I didn't know how else I'd get a decent photo, so I paid after explaining what I was looking for and why ineffectively.

 

 My approach to the lighthouse was from the north side of the channel.  That was fortunate, it's nice to have water in pictures of a lighthouse.

 This trip to the Land of Lincoln captured two of their Great Lake lighthouses.  There are six others but only two of them are considered by LighthouseFriends.com as lights I can see without a boat or plane.

 Come back next Sunday for the Grosse Point lighthouse.

Notice the bird on top of the near pole.

On the far left is a light cylinder marking the right side of the harbor entrance.

The Waukegan Harbor lighthouse on Lake Michigan.  All photos by David Mossner 5/27/2023