Illinois Lighthouses - Chicago Harbor Southeast Guidewall

The SE Harbor Guidewall light from the hotel. 2/22/26 dwm

 I couldn't see the Harbor Guidewall Lighthouse from my hotel room, but it was in range from a room that was hosting a small gathering the first night of the fundraising conference I attended last month.

 The next day there was a break between conference sessions that allowed me to walk down to Navy Pier to get pictures of the lighthouses just off shore.

 The Southeast Guidewall lighthouse was the last subject. 

 

The perch for the pier-head light isn't the first home for the 30-foot tall lighthouse, from 1912 to 1931 it served as a pier-head lighthouse in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. (story continues below photo)

The Guidewall light in front of the city's skyline. 2/23/26 dwm

The guide wall was built at the entrance to the Chicago River between 1936 and 1938 and the light posted at the end to guide ships into the locks regulating the water and ships entering or leaving the river.

Engineers used the locks to push river water inland because the river's pollution couldn't go into the lake where the city drew it's water supply. The locks still work, opening 10,000 times a year, most of the time for boats offering tours. Most lighthouses are easy to see, which is a very good thing as they help ships navigate, but guiding ships in and out of the Chicago Harbor makes the lights look small.

The Chicago Harbor SE Guidewall light is the seventh of the eight surviving Illinois lighthouses on Lake Michigan. The 68th Street Crib light was out of range to see on this trip. In 2023, we drove down to Illinois to see the Grosse Pointe lighthouse near Evanston and the Waukegan Harbor light near the city of the same name. 

Here are a few more looks at the Chicago Harbor Southeast Guidewall Lighthouse:

The Willis (formerly Sears) Tower is the tallest on the right. 2/23/2026 dwm

Soldier Field is directly above the words "is directly" 2/23/2026 dwm photo

Even in February, tour boats are tied to Navy Pier. The lighthouse is centered. 2/23/26 dwm

The masts and rigging of this sailboat frame the pierhead light. 2/23/2026 dwm