Dunkirk Light

Dunkirk Light

Location	Point Gratiot on Lake Erie
Year first constructed	1826
Year first lit	1875
Automated	1960
Foundation	Dressed Stone
Construction	Rubblestone encased in brick
Tower shape	Square
Markings / pattern	Upper 2/3 White, lower 1/3 natural, Red Lantern
Focal height	82 ft (25 m)
Original lens	Third Order Fresnel lens
Characteristic	Occulting White 4 seconds
ARLHS number	USA-248
USCG number	7-3410 [1] [2] [3]
Point Gratiot Lighthouse Complex
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Point Gratiot Light, November 2010
Location:	Sycamore Rd., Dunkirk, New York
Coordinates:	42°29′38″N 79°21′14″W / 42.49389°N 79.35389°W / 42.49389; -79.35389Coordinates: 42°29′38″N 79°21′14″W / 42.49389°N 79.35389°W / 42.49389; -79.35389
Area:	3.9 acres (1.6 ha)
Built:	1875
Architectural style:	Gothic, High Victorian Gothic
Governing body:	U.S. Coast Guard
NRHP Reference#:	79001568 [4]
Added to NRHP:	December 18, 1979

Dunkirk Light, also known as Point Gratiot Light, is an active lighthouse located at Point Gratiot on Lake Erie in New York state.

The lighthouse was established in 1826 and the current tower was first lit in 1875. The lighthouse was automated in 1960 and is still operational. The foundation is made out of dressed stone and the lighthouse is made out of rubblestone encased in brick. The tower is a square shaped tower. The upper two thirds is white and the lower one third is natural and the lantern housing is red. The original lens is a third order Fresnel lens installed in 1857 and is still in operation. Its being still in use makes it a rarity. Only 70 such lenses are operational in the United States, 16 being on the Great Lakes of which two are in New York.^[5] At the entrance to the park property is the South Buffalo North Side Light, formerly located in Buffalo Harbor. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Point Gratiot Lighthouse Complex in 1979.

Cultural

The Dunkirk Lighthouse is open daily except Sunday. Guided tours include climb to the top of the lighthouse, Veteran museums and gift shop.^[6]

The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Dunkirk (Point Gratiot) Light ^[7] with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

See also

• Fort Gratiot Light

References

1. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHNY.asp. 
2. ^ (PDF) Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes. Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 38. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/LightList%20V7.pdf. 
3. ^ "ARLHS World List of Lights". http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA248.html. 
4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
5. ^ "Fresnel Lenses Still in Operation". USCG. 2009-11-14. http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/CG_Classical_Lens_in_Operation.pdf. 
6. ^ Dunkirk Lighthouse Official Site
7. ^ Smithsonian lighthouse postcards

Further reading

• 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.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993

External links

• Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veteran's Park Museum - official site