National Register of Historic Places

Lorain Lighthouse

Lorain, Lorain County, Ohio
Listed
December 29, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
78002108

About this property

The Lorain West Breakwater Light, also called the Lorain Harbor Light, is a lighthouse in Lorain, Ohio, United States. The light was built in 1917 on Lake Erie by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It was taken out of service in 1965 when it was replaced by an automated light tower on a nearby breakwater. The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The 1917 lighthouse is the fourth lighthouse built to service the City of Lorain's Black River port, with the first being constructed in 1836. Funding for the fourth lighthouse was appropriated by Congress in 1913 and construction began in 1916. A temporary light was installed in 1917 and the lens was installed in 1918. After an automated light tower was installed in 1965, the 1917 light was decommissioned and marked for demolition. The demolition had to be rescheduled for the following year after the project was delayed by a storm. During that time, the Lorain community was able to mobilize to save the lighthouse as a historical landmark for the City of Lorain. The original lens was a fourth order, Fresnel that was installed in 1918. When the lighthouse was decommissioned, the Fresnel lens was put in storage in Cleveland by the Coast Guard. It was loaned to the historical society for the Charlotte-Genesse Lighthouse in New York as part of a renovation campaign in 1984. After a dispute over ownership, the original Lorain Fresnel lens was returned to Lorain in 2014 and is on display inside the Lorain Port Authority. The Lorain Lighthouse has been managed by the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation (formerly Port of Lorain Foundation) since 1990. The lighthouse has won "best lighthouse" by Lake Erie Living Magazine in 2013–2024. Oleszewski, Wes. Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0. U.S. Coast Guard. Historically Famous Lighthouses (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1957). Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3 Media related to Lorain lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Ohio". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Ohio". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 1 May 2017.

Location

Lorain, Lorain County, Ohio
41.47738, -82.19025

Categories

INDUSTRYENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Antlers Hotel
Civil War
0.8 mi
Lorain Fire Station No. 1
Industrial
0.9 mi
Broadway Building
Industrial
0.9 mi
Duane Block
Industrial
1 mi
Moore, Leonard M., House
Industrial
1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lorain Lighthouse listed on the National Register?

Lorain Lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Lorain Lighthouse?

Lorain Lighthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lorain Lighthouse?

The period of significance for Lorain Lighthouse is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Lorain Lighthouse?

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