Grand Traverse Michigan
Harbour Lights #451
Lighted

For 150 years, Grand Traverse Lighthouse has guided sailors and their ships through the Manitou Passage, Straits of Mackinaw and Grand Traverse Bay. Replaced in 1972 with a modern – though unromantic – skeletal tower, the Midwest Victorian lighthouse structure proudly remains as a reminder of its Great Lakes heritage. Housing a museum and gift shop, Grand Traverse Light offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about lighthouse legacy as they tour this historic site.

The first Grand Traverse Lighthouse was built in 1851. Inadequate budget resulted in a poorly constructed building, and just seven years later, the tower and separate quarters were torn down and a more sturdy structure was built. The new site, just east of the original lighthouse, incorporated the tower as part of a dwelling-style building. The two-story brick house interior was similar to a duplex, with four rooms on each side of the staircase. But to reach the lantern, the keeper had to climb stairs that rose through the attic to the rooftop tower and cupola sheathed in copper.

Originally, the new sentinel was outfitted with a small, Fifth Order Fresnel Lens. In 1870, a larger, Fourth Order Lens was installed. Its fixed white light was visible for some 18 miles over Lake Michigan. Following construction of the skeletal tower and decommissioning of the lighthouse in 1972, the Fresnel Lens was removed from the tower and placed in the museum, where it can be seen today.

In 1899, a sound signal building was erected. The Flemish Revival brick building serves as a living model of maritime history. Regular demonstrations of the restored air diaphone foghorn are given every Saturday during summer months, along with an interpretive presentation. Under direction of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Foundation, this unique exhibit and demonstration is only one of the experiences that await visitors. Another is a collection of lighthouse and steamship china that includes rare pieces once used by the US Lighthouse Service and Great Lakes freighters; and the living room of the quarters includes a pump organ that keeper James McCormick gave his wife on their wedding day in 1899.

Thick fogs in the area called for keepers to frequently sound the fog signal. In 1904, keepers split and loaded 49 cords of wood into the boilers to keep the 10-inch whistle screaming for a record 318 hours! The boilers and whistle were removed in 1933 and replaced with the diaphone fog signal powered by diesel engines. These were replaced in 1953 by a 440-volt Worthington air compressor, which remained in use until the station was closed in 1972.

The buildings stood vacant until 1985 when the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Foundation was formed to preserve the historic buildings and create a “living lighthouse” for the public to enjoy. Two years of renovation, and the National Historic Site was reopened on Memorial Day 1987… another example of caring volunteers determined to preserve the heritage of the lighthouse and keep the flame.