Dunkirk West Pier Beacon

Type:
Year Established:
1837
Existing:
No
Source:
LL-1901
Dunkirk West Pier Beacon ca 1920.jpg
Download:
File Type:
jpg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
ca 1920
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
Lake Erie
Latitude:
42° 29'35"
Longitude:
79° 20'46"
City / Town:
Dunkirk
U.S. State:
New York
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No

STRUCTURE

Year Tower Established:
1837
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
41 FT ABOVE WATER
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1837: Congress appropriated funds for a breakwater at Dunkirk Harbor and a light to mark the pier’s end. 
  • 1895: The first tower was destroyed by ice. The next tower was a square pyramidal tower with clapboards, a square gallery, and polygonal lantern.
  • A catwalk was provided from the lighthouse to the shore for keeper access.
  • 1939: A skeletal steel tower became the third light at location.
  • 1992: The pierhead light was replaced with a beacon on a cylindrical tower. The skeletal steel tower was relocated to the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Park Museum.
Entered by:
tomtag
Entered Date:
Jan 17, 2018