Lorain Lighthouse without breakwater Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Over the next thirty-plus years, sand deposits built up along the pier, effectively moving the light closer to the shoreline. In 1875, the cylindrical tower was torn down and replaced by a square pyramidal tower at the end of a new 600-foot-pier. To tend the light, the keeper had to traverse the pier each day laden with oil. According to the Black River Historical Society, "Storms often blew from the west and on two different occasions lighthouse keepers were washed from the pier and drowned." Consequently, a metal walkway was built on top of the pier to ensure safe passage.

Congress appropriated $400 in 1891 to place a second tower on shore to serve as a range with the tower at the end of pier. The two lights could then be lined up to help direct vessels into the river.

By 1908, the construction of an extended West Breakwater was completed, and a light was constructed at the head of the outer pier. Nine years later, the Lorain Lighthouse was built as seen today. The massive structure stretched three stories high. Built by the Army Corps of Engineers, the lighthouse was designed to withstand the tempestuous weather of Lake Erie. The walls were made of poured concrete and steel and stood over ten inches thick. To make the lighthouse look less like a fortress, shuttered windows and a pitched roof were added. From one corner of the structure, a square tower, topped by a lantern room, extends just above the pitched roof. A rotating fourth-order Fresnel lens, producing a flash every ten seconds, was originally used in the tower. The light shone with the brightness of 50,000 candles and stood 58 feet above Lake Erie.

The Coast Guard assumed control of the Lorain Lighthouse in 1939, stationing three men from the local unit at the light. The Coast Guard occupied the lighthouse for over two decades, and occasionally served as lookouts for both a lifeboat station and the Air Force. During their spare time, the coastguardsmen also painted the lighthouse for the first time since the 1930s, a task that took one year to complete, using 50 gallons of paint and four-inch brushes.

The Coast Guard removed its last crew from the lighthouse in 1965 and made plans to demolish it so that a $22 million improvement of the harbor could be made. A modern tower at the western tip of a new outer breakwall took over the function of lighting the harbor, and the Lorain Lighthouse fell dark. With the removal of both the lighthouse's lens and its occupants, it fell victim to vandalism, forcing the Coast Guard to weld it shut to keep unwelcome visitors out. Now looking more like a fortress than ever, the Lorain Lighthouse stood and awaited its sad and certain fate.

Buy at Art.com

What came instead was a barrage of protests from the Lorain community, as well as some fortuitous storms on Lake Erie. Wayne Conn, William Parker, John and Clara Corogin and the Lorain Historical Society stepped forward to organize an effort to save the lighthouse. With the demolition scheduled for October 1965, the group worked quickly, contacting the mayor, congressman and United States Coast Guard. Thanks to Conn's negotiating, as well as fierce winter weather, plans for demolition were postponed until the spring of 1967. By then, the campaign to save the lighthouse had convinced the Coast Guard to cancel the demolition contract, and the Coast Guard declared that the lighthouse had historical value.

In 1973, the Coast Guard turned the lighthouse over to the General Services Administration, which worked to sell the structure. Buyers had to be non-profit organizations with historical purposes and had to prove that they had the means necessary to maintain the lighthouse. The story spread quickly, all over the world in fact. A couple from Lorain even saw an ad for the lighthouse in a Parisian newspaper while visiting France.

Over the next few years, the Save-the-Lighthouse Committee worked with the Great Lakes Historical Society, an eligible buyer. The society ultimately decided not to purchase the lighthouse, so the committee resumed negotiations with the Lorain County Historical Society, with whom they had had ongoing contact for several years. Finally, in 1977, Lorain Lighthouse was sold to the Lorain Historical Society. The deed was given in exchange for $1.00. The following year the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the fall of 1981, "Operation Lighthouse" was executed, during which the lighthouse was refurbished. This time the structure was painted professionally using a generous donation of 160 gallons of paint from the Glidden Company. (The company would later use "before and after" photos of the lighthouse in its advertising.) Numerous companies and individuals volunteered their time and resources---an estimated value of over $30,000---to restore the lighthouse.

After noticing cracks in the base of the lighthouse, an underwater examination of the foundation was performed in 1987. The building itself was also inspected, and it was found that $700,000 in repairs was needed. Shortly thereafter, the lighthouse was purchased by its present owner, the Port of Lorain Foundation, a non-profit foundation established to preserve both the lighthouse and Lorain's waterfront. The foundation was fortunate enough to receive grants from several organizations, including the Ohio Historical Society, the Community Foundation of Greater Lorain County, the Stocker Foundation and the TRW Foundation. Schools in the Lorain area launched a fund-raiser of their own to help repair the lighthouse, and their "Pounds of Pennies" campaign raised over $5,000. The federal government provided the most assistance, however, passing the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill that included provisions for $500,000 to be directed to the restoration of Lorain Lighthouse.

Repairs to the lighthouse continued throughout the 1990s and included the stabilization of the foundation and some exterior cosmetic work by the Army Corps of Engineers, the lighthouse's original builders. This time their project cost $850,000, a steep price compared to the original cost of $35,000 in 1917.

The sentinel of concrete and stone still faithfully guards the Port of Lorain on Lake Erie. For half a century it functioned as a signal to navigators. Now dark and quiet, Lorain Lighthouse, the "Jewel of the Port," stands as a monument to the community that has fought to preserve it.

Photo Gallery: 1 2 3 4 5

References

1. "History of Lorain Lighthouse," The Black River Historical Society.
2. "History of the Lorain Lighthouse," Lorain Public Library System.

Lorain Lighthouse is not currently open to the public, and there is a gap in the breakwater, which prevents access to the lighthouse by foot. Boat rides to the lighthouse are planned for the future.