A contract for the project was signed with a target completion date of December 31, 1902, and soon work had begun on concrete foundations at the sites. However, owing to difficulties in acquiring iron for the construction of the south side beacon and fog signal house, the contractors were unable to finish their work by the end of 1902, and the incomplete lighthouse was sealed up and securely anchored for the long winter ahead. Work resumed in the spring as soon as the ice permitted, but defective building materials and shoddy craftsmanship further impeded the project's completion until later in 1903.

By the end of June, the Lighthouse Board report noted that the south side lighthouse and the “steel beacon on the north side” were both essentially finished. The metal trusses for the roof of the fog signal building had been delivered to Buffalo, but no work was performed on the building itself as the timber supplied for its walls did not pass inspection. Important parts for the lighthouses were in various states of transit; the pedestal, clockwork and lens for the south tower were being stored at the general lighthouse depot, awaiting shipment. The north beacon's lens lantern had already been delivered to the lighthouse lamp shop in the city, and the fog signal's engines, siren and air receivers were in readiness at the Buffalo depot. The report also noted that title to real estate for the double keeper's quarters had been obtained and that a contract had been let for its completion by October 2, 1903.

Buffalo South Entrance South Side Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

Both the North and South Side Lighthouses were exhibited for the first time on September 15, 1903. Construction on the fog signal building was initiated on May 10, 1904. By July, the four walls of the signal house were erected, and the structural ironwork in place awaiting installation of the roof covering. Finally, on November 12, 1904, a fog siren powered by twin thirteen horsepower engines and compressed air was in readiness. A 176-foot “pile and timber bulkhead...on the easterly side of the Stony Point arm of the breakwater” was also completed during the 1904 season.

The new south entrance beacons were especially important to turn of the century Buffalo, as the city became the world’s leading lumber port and grain-milling and storage center. The southern entrance was also located near the recently completed Lackawanna Steel plant, which would be acquired by Bethlehem Steel in 1992 and become the world’s largest steel mill during the frantic production accompanying World War II.

The Buffalo South Entrance South Side Lighthouse is a unique tower with a brown cylindrical base, a white, conical midsection, and a black lantern graced with glass panes in a diamond configuration. The tower’s interior is furnished with fine wood wainscoting, and its lantern was originally equipped with a fourth-order Fresnel lens that produced a complex pattern of alternating red and white flashes. The arch-roofed fog signal house adjoining the tower was painted brown. Its original fog siren was later replaced by an air diaphone, which produced a two-tone air blast of three seconds, followed by a silent period of 27 seconds. The curvaceous Buffalo South Entrance North Side Lighthouse was known as a bottle light due to its close resemblance to an old glass milk bottle.

Automated in 1935, the Buffalo South Side Lighthouse is currently inactive, having been replaced by a simple, modern post light that is very convenient to maintain. The old beacon's fourth-order Fresnel lens is mounted in Buffalo's cherished and more centrally located 1833 tower, where it is decoratively lit at night. The North Side Light was decommissioned in 1988 and relocated to the grounds of the Dunkirk Lighthouse on Lake Erie. This bottle light has a twin that stood on a small breakwater opposite the North Breakwater Light and was later removed to the grounds of Buffalo's historic 1833 tower.

The closure of most of the Lackawanna steel plant has had a large economic impact on the Buffalo area and greatly decreased the amount of large freighters calling at the port. A large portion of Buffalo’s grain-milling and storage facilities have also shut down, but there was still an active General Mills plant in the harbor as of 2007. (During our boat ride through Buffalo Harbor, we were treated to the aroma of Cocoa Puffs.) Today, Buffalo Harbor is kept busy with fishermen and recreational boaters, and the city is planning on further development on the waterfront near the present Coast Guard station.

In July of 2008, the Buffalo Harbor South Entrance Lighthouse was offered to qualified groups through the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, passed in 2000. Two groups, the Buffalo Lighthouse Association and the Maritime Activity Interyouth Network, submitted a letter of interest by the September 23, 2008 deadline. These entities will have the opportunity to inspect the property and then submit a formal application within ninety days of the inspection.

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References

1. Annual Report of the Light House Board.
2. “Beacon to the Heartland,” Mike Vogel, The Keeper’s Log, Fall 1987.

The lighthouse is inaccessible by land due to the surrounding industrial properties. For a close-up view of the lighthouse, we used the services of Captain Larry Jones of Mostly Muskies Charters.