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Lighthouse Attached to Church
This original newswire photo from February 17, 1954 shows the 1864 Campeche Lighthouse in Campeche, Mexico. It was built attached to a church that dates back to the 1700s, which was built by the Jesuits. At some point, the lighthouse was deactivated in favor of the San Bartolo Lighthouse that was built nearby. The main structure stopped being used as a church in 1914. In 1934, the entire complex became an archaeological museum and cultural center. Rumor has it that the lighthouse is to be restored in the very near future.
Lighthouse for the Blind
This original newswire photo dated February 27, 1975 shows the old Lighthouse for the Blind tower in New Orleans, Louisiana that was constructed in 1924. The lighthouse tower is shown here in sharp contrast to the later empty 45-story Plaza Tower. This lighthouse facsimile served as a workshop for the blind until 1956 when the organization moved to larger headquarters. Most recently, it was owned by Lighthouse Glass.
Politics at the Lighthouse
his original newswire photo was published on November 7, 1998 in the Houston Chronicle newspaper in Houston, Texas. The caption read, “Flamboyant Port Isabel Mayor Baldemar U. Alaniz stands in front of the Port Isabel Lighthouse. Despite his controversial image, Alaniz considers himself a rising star in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.” Research shows that after apparently being elected mayor three times, he later held other positions in Port Isabel government; however, when he ran again for mayor in 2018 he lost.
Touring California
Old photos, like this image of a vintage car with California’s Pigeon Point Lighthouse in the background, have a lot of history to tell. We are not sure of the year when this photo was taken, but our guess is 1910s or 20s. Perhaps one of our readers can help us by identifying the year and make of the automobile. In 1960, for no apparent “real” reason, the keeper’s house, shown here, was demolished in favor of the construction of four modern ranch-style houses.
Sprucing Up Nubble
Kenneth Jarvis, who was a civilian employee of the Coast Guard from the 1940s to 1963, took this photo of Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Maine being painted. The lighthouse is more commonly known as Nubble Light. It is important to save and publish historic images like this because they are an integral part of lighthouse history that assists us in better understanding maintenance and care of lighthouses in the past. Because of its proximity to so many major metropolitan areas, it is widely believed that Nubble Light is the most viewed and photographed lighthouse in the United States.
Changing of the Fog Horns
This original newswire photo taken on August 26, 1987 shows a new fog horn being hoisted to the top of the Sodus Point Pierhead Lighthouse on Lake Ontario in Sodus Point, New York. The new fog horn replaced an earlier one that also sat on the deck of the lantern at the top of the tower. One of the things that can often make lighthouse history so difficult to research is that some lighthouses, such as this one, are known by several different names, which, in this case, are Sodus Point Breakwater Lighthouse, Sodus Bay West Pier Lighthouse, Sodus Breakwater Lighthouse, and Sodus Outer Lighthouse.
Snow at Burnt Island Lighthouse
Old photos of snow at lighthouses are somewhat rare, so this photo, taken on March 9, 1962 by Kenneth Jarvis who was a civilian employee of the Coast Guard, is a real find. If you look closely between the outbuilding and the lighthouse, you will see the top of the then capped fog bell tower, which was subsequently removed from the light station. Burnt Island Light Station is now a living history museum and will open for tours in July. To learn more, go to: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/education/burnt-island/index.html
Mackinaw City Lighthouse Float
On July 28, 2007 a giant celebration was held between the towns of St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, Michigan to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge, which, when built, was the world’s longest suspension bridge between anchorages. It connected Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The float, shown here, held the Queen and her Court from Rogers City, Michigan that used a facsimile of Michigan’s Old Presque Lighthouse as its anchor. (Photo by Sherry Shock)
Gone But Not Forgotten
The Pauka’a Point Lighthouse was established in 1869 at Pauka’a Point, about two miles north of downtown Hilo, on the Big Island in Hawaii. This wooden tower on a trestle-style structure was replaced in the 1920s by the reinforced concrete pyramid-style structure that stands there today and is considered a minor aid to navigation.
Painting West Quoddy
If you look closely, you will see a man on a platform painting Maine’s West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in 1959 in a photo taken by Kenneth Jarvis who was a long-time civilian employee of the Coast Guard at that time. Photos like this help to document the maintenance of the lighthouse over the years. West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine is the eastern-most lighthouse on the mainland of the Atlantic Coast of the United States.
Building a Lighthouse in the Philippines
This 1896 photograph shows the Bugui Point Lighthouse in the town of Aroroy at the northern tip of Masbate Island in the Philippines when construction was stopped during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. Note the primitive scaffolding being used at that time. In 1898 after the conclusion of the Spanish American War, the Philippines became a province of the United States. In 1906, the United States Lighthouse Service completed the construction of the Bugui Point Lighthouse and lighted it for the first time on December 1, 1902. Today the abandoned lighthouse is in a dismal state of ruin and decay.
Assateague Lens
Shown here in this 1980 photo is the magnificent 1st order Fresnel lens from Virginia’s Assateague Lighthouse when it was displayed outdoors, surrounded by chicken wire, near the lighthouse. In 1961, when the lens was removed from the lantern of Assateague Lighthouse, the Coast Guard gave the lens to the Virginia Historical Society, which in turn donated the lens to the Oyster and Maritime Museum, which is now known as the Museum of Chincoteague Island. For many years the lens remained on display outdoors with no protection from the elements. In 1995 an addition to the museum was built, and in 1996, the lens was moved indoors and restored. In 1999, there was a grand unveiling of the lens at the museum, where it remains on display to this day.
The Last of Her Kind
The Charles W. Morgan, the last of America’s whaling ships, is shown here as she was being moved on December 12, 1973 from the berth she had occupied since 1941 to a dry-dock where she would be restored. The vessel is shown here going past the Mystic Seaport Lighthouse in Mystic, Connecticut. The lighthouse was built in 1966 to closely resemble the 1901 Brant Point Lighthouse on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. It houses a 4th order Fresnel lens in the lantern. The Charles W. Morgan was retired from the whaling trade in 1921. After being used in a couple of movies, including the 1922 movie Down to the Sea in Ships, the vessel was used as an exhibit in Massachusetts and preserved by Whaling Enshrined, Inc. In 1941, she was brought to Mystic Seaport. Built and launched in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan is the oldest commercial ship still afloat in the United States – only the USS Constitution is older. It is stated that over 20 million people have toured the Charles W. Morgan.
Mystery Man Inside Biloxi Light
We have this original June 14, 1967 newspaper photo in our archives, but sadly, we don’t have the newspaper story that went with it, nor do we know the name of man who is pictured. Because the Biloxi Lighthouse in Biloxi, Mississippi was automated in 1940, the man could have been a city employee or just a visitor. If anyone can help us identify the man or find the newspaper story that went with the photo, we would love to hear from you by email to Editor@LighthouseDigest.com.
This story appeared in the
May/Jun 2019 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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