Illinois Lighthouses - Chicago Harbor

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. 2/23/2026 dwm photo

Chicago was a city of 40,000 in the 1830s when the city's first conventional lighthouse was built to aid navigation.

It was replaced by a taller structure in 1859, but as breakwaters were extended into Lake Michigan to create a harbor, it was replaced by a house built in 1893.

After the new light was built, the 1859 light was dismantled and shipped up the west coast of Lake Michigan, where it became the lighthouse near Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

As officials tried to keep up with the city's growth, a contract was made in 1889, for a new lighthouse foundation. The foundation was finished later that year but building an iron tower and the rest of the building took time, the tower, flanked on two sides with fog signals was ready to work in 1893. A third-order Fresnel lens built in France and first used in San Francisco was installed in 1893, just in time for Chicago's 1893 Colombian Exposition.

As seen from my hotel, 1 mile away. 2/24/26.

 When the breakwater was extended further south, the lighthouse moved with it, and resumed operating in August, 1918.

 I couldn't get very close to the Chicago Harbor lighthouse, but I had a lot of angles with which to frame it. 

 Fortunately, my hotel room for a fundraising conference was on the 28th floor facing Lake Michigan and the light was framed between two large buildings. As I walked around the perimeter of Navy Pier, there were several angles available with interesting looks at the light.

Framed by flags at the end of Navy Pier. 2/23/2026 dwm

Years of exposure have given the light its own patina. The light became the property of the Friends of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse in 2022. 

After the light became automated and keepers were no longer required, a Chicago man negotiated with the Coast Guard and lived in the lighthouse during warm months of the year. By 2005, he moved out and the Government moved on.

The lighthouse has a neighboring light almost two miles away, the Four Mile Crib lighthouse, built in 1891. You can read about the crib lighthouses by clicking here.

It's a beautiful lighthouse, I hope its friends are able to preserve the light, and if all goes well, be open to the public someday.

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse and Four Mile Crib lighthouse. 2/23/2026 dwm

 

View of Chicago Harbor, Four-Mile Crib, and cylindrical light. 2/23/2026 dwm

The view between boats tied to Navy Pier. 2/23/2026 dwm photo