Lighthouse collectable - Chicago Harbor - NEW - $17.00

Manchester CT

06 September, 2021

8:16 PM

Description

The first lighthouse on the Chicago River was completed in 1832.I served as a navigational ais for 20 years until the Bureau of Ttopographical Engineers constructed a replacement on the north pier in 1852. Throughout the next 67 years, lights perodically switched among locations on the mainland, piers and breakwaters tha extend into the harbor. The Chicago Harbor Light that survives today typifies the changing of the lights. It was first erected on the mainland in 1893, positioned directly at the entrance to the Chicago River. While construction was underway in 1891 a Third Order lens with red and white panels was being displayed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago intended for a lighthouse in California, the Lighthouse Board decided to install the Spectacular lens at the newly constructed Chicago Light instead. In 1917, Congress appropiated funds to move the entire lighthouse to a breakwater where it stands today. With a diameter of 18 feet, the brick lined steel tower is 48 feet high and produces a focal plane of light that shines 82 feet above the mean low-water mark. The light is flanked by two hipped-roof buildings- one housing an audible fog signal, the other a boathouse. Danbury Mint 5 3/8" tall