Spectacle Reef Light Station, Benton Township Michigan

Date added: August 20, 2024

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Michigan
Lighthouse

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Spectacle Reef Light Station was a part of the efforts of the federal government to provide an integrated system of navigational aids throughout the United States, and to provide for safe maritime transport in the Straits of Mackinac vicinity and throughout the Great Lakes. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the Great Lakes have served as a major transportation corridor for maritime commercial traffic. Spectacle Reef Light Station sits isolated on a pair of hazardous underwater rocks lying just 7 feet beneath the surface of Lake Huron. These rocks were responsible for numerous shipwrecks prior to 1874 when the Spectacle Reef Light Station was established. It has been an integral part of successful commerce and safe travel throughout the Great Lakes region since then, and remains so today.

Orlando Metcalfe Poe, Chief Engineer of the Upper Great Lakes Lighthouse District, designed and supervised the construction of Spectacle Reef Light Station. At the time of completion, it was the most expensive fixed aid to navigation ever built on the Great Lakes. The station's light tower is considered one of the premier examples in the United States of wave-swept tower interlocking stone masonry, and the structure includes an early example of an exposed crib foundation. This lighthouse was originally intended to be a stand-alone wave-swept light tower similar to the Minot's Ledge Light Station off Scituate, Massachusetts, that was completed in 1860. The added requirement for a fog signal led to retaining and improving the station's crib pier originally planned as a temporary feature.

Spectacle Reef Light Station embodies the distinctive characteristics and methods commonly employed in lighthouse construction on the Great Lakes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During that time period, civil engineers developed and perfected methods for building lighthouses on isolated islands, reefs, and shoals in addition to ones constructed onshore and on piers or breakwaters. Light towers constructed on wooden crib foundations became popular replacements for lightships at offshore submerged locations. These lightships were subject to harm from storms and winter ice. On the other hand, cribs constructed onshore, towed to an offshore site, and filled with stone to sink them in place, were especially well suited for use in fresh water and on hard rock bottoms. Crib foundations were also easily built large enough to provide sufficient surface area for supporting a fog signal building and other auxiliary structures.

History of Spectacle Reef Light Station

Throughout the 1860s, the likelihood of catastrophic shipwrecks on the Great Lakes increased proportionately with the region's burgeoning maritime commerce. After two schooners ran aground and broke up on Spectacle Reef in the fall of 1867, the Lighthouse Board concluded this underwater obstacle was "probably more dreaded by navigators than any other danger now unmarked throughout the entire chain of lakes." The Lighthouse Board installed a first-class buoy on the reef in 1868 as a temporary measure. This was followed with a full survey of the locality, a feasibility assessment for constructing a permanent light station, and a request to Congress for appropriations to carry out the project. The estimated cost for a suitable structure at Spectacle Reef was $316,093, less than the monetary amount lost from the 1867 shipwrecks. Congress responded favorably to the proposed project and allotted $100,000 in 1869, $100,000 in 1870, and $116,000 in 1871.

Chief Engineer O. M. Poe's plan for this project included measures to expedite construction and eliminate costs associated with transporting workers to and from Spectacle Reef each day. This involved placing a 92-foot square wooden crib on the site. Since the reef varied in height, this crib had four sections that could be positioned individually then attached to one another. It was designed to surround a 48-foot square open area. The crib's purpose was to form an interior still-pond "in which to place the cofferdam, and to furnish a landing stage for materials and foundation for temporary quarters for workmen." The center opening was for building a cofferdam that could be pumped out, leaving a dry, protected work area atop the reef's bedrock for constructing the light tower's masonry foundation. Poe's original plan was for the wooden crib to be temporary, and removed when work was done. The lighthouse's final form was to be a wave-swept granite masonry tower rising directly from the water, similar to the famous Minot's Ledge Light Station in the Atlantic Ocean off Scituate, Massachusetts, completed in 1860.

The work commenced in 1870 under Poe's supervision. The first order of business was to establish a land-based camp at Scammon's Harbor. It included temporary living quarters for workmen, a storehouse, and a wharf. This site was chosen because there was deep water close to shore and it was just 16 miles from Spectacle Reef. After establishing camp in the early spring, workers began constructing the four wooden cribs. Rock ballast was collected and stockpiled at the harbor to be used for filling the crib's compartments when it was sunk into place on the reef.

The first onsite work at Spectacle Reef took place in June 1870. It involved removing the sunken hull of the schooner Nightingale and its iron ore cargo which rested in the area where the cribs and cofferdam were to be placed. As the time neared to position the crib on the reef, Poe decided it was best to connect its four sections with each other at Scammon's Harbor and tow them to the lighthouse site altogether. Work assembling the crib had not yet been completed by the end of the 1870 season, when harsh weather halted work at Scammon's Harbor for the winter.

Work resumed in April 1871. A problem arose when a contractor hired to furnish cut granite blocks for the tower was unable to furnish the required materials. This caused the U. S. Treasury to take back $70,000 of the funds appropriated for the work. That money was not re-appropriated until 1872. The Lighthouse Board was anxious for this construction project to stay on schedule and made an emergency decision to use limestone instead of granite, even though it was slightly inferior as a building material. A supplier in Marblehead, Ohio, was selected for purchasing this limestone.

On 18^th July 1871, the tugs Champion and Magnet attached lines to the bottom of the crib, eased it from Scammon's Harbor into Lake Huron, and towed it to Spectacle Reef. The crib at this time was about 12.5 feet tall. Sinking it into place required 1,200 tons of ballast rock. The crib's height was built up to 12 feet above water level, and workers' quarters were erected on it. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed atop one of the buildings as a temporary aid to navigation, and work on Spectacle Reef Light Station began in earnest. Divers cleared away rock obstructing the crib's interior opening, and the cofferdam was lowered into place and fastened into position. This cofferdam was a hollow cylinder 41 feet in diameter, constructed of wooden staves and thoroughly braced both inside and outside. Divers, enduring the cold waters, sealed spaces between the cofferdam and the reef's bedrock with Portland cement.

By 14^th October 1871, sufficient water had been pumped from the cofferdam to allow workers to begin leveling the bedrock on which to build the tower. In an attempt to accomplish the preliminary work before the onset of winter and ensuing ice floes, the construction crew's average workday lasted from eighteen to twenty-one hours with only a few short breaks during the day. In an article describing the dangerous conditions to which lighthouse builders at Spectacle Reef were exposed, the author stated that during the last days of the 1871 season, "snow and sleet fell almost constantly, and the waves frequently dashed over the breakwater, keeping the men drenched." The workmen were able to lay the first course of masonry and pour concrete to fill the space between the outside of the course and the cofferdam by the time winter weather halted construction for the season. All of the work crew left Spectacle Reef, except for two keepers who remained on the pier to monitor the light and fog signal until the end of the shipping season.

A long and extreme winter postponed work on the light station until May 1872, when ice was finally cleared from the pier and inside the cofferdam. Despite their late start, the workers built the tower to a substantial height by the end of the season. The 1872 Annual Report attests to the rapid progress and described work during that season as "going on at such a rate that one entire course is set, drilled, and bolted complete every three days." Lighthouse Board officials estimated that the entire structure would be complete by the end of 1873, if the weather cooperated. However, in September 1872 a severe gale destroyed the workmen's quarters and damaged the crib. The subsequent winter prevented further construction until May 1873.

By October 1873, the station was complete except for placing the chimney on the outside of the lantern, installing a stairway to the watch room, painting the tower interior, and setting up the lens. An additional $20,000 appropriation provided funds for finishing these few remaining tasks. The second order Fresnel lens installed atop the tower first exhibited its light on 1^st June 1874."

Poe's designs and plan for constructing Spectacle Reef Light Station were altered from their original version to accommodate conditions at the site and the lights expanded mission to include a fog signal. The project's successful outcome led to a similar plan being followed at Stannard Rock in Lake Superior. As with Spectacle Reef, the light station constructed there in 1882 employed a crib, cofferdam, and limestone blocks for the tower.

While Stannard Rock Light Station was modeled after the Spectacle Reef designs, Spectacle Reef had much in common with the famed Minot's Ledge Light Station. Not only was Spectacle Reef intended to be a five-story, wave-swept tower like Minot's Ledge, it was originally supposed to be constructed of granite like the earlier structure. The Lighthouse Board decided to use limestone only after a contractor failed to furnish the desired granite. The construction process at both Minot's Ledge and Spectacle Reef was lengthy due to their exposed locations. It required five years for the former and four years for the latter. At Minot's Ledge, strong waves hindered construction and remained the biggest danger after it was completed. The work crew there could labor only during periods of low tide on calm days. In contrast, ice was the main obstacle at Spectacle Reef, slowing progress and causing problems. Minot's Ledge and Spectacle Reef are among the most expensive light stations ever built in the United States. Both are considered significant feats of engineering.

The Lighthouse Board assigned a crew of four men to the Spectacle Reef Light Station when it was established in 1874, one keeper and three assistant keepers. Harsh conditions challenged the strength of the new structure and the keepers' resolution as early as 1875. Thirty feet of ice had accumulated around the lighthouse by the start of the shipping season and the keepers had to cut a passageway to the tower door. Further evidence of the light station's unforgiving environment came in April 1883. The keepers' boat was damaged and capsized as they returned to Spectacle Reef with clothing and provisions for the upcoming season. The men spent over three hours in the cold waters of Lake Huron before being rescued by two fishermen from Mackinac Island. Not all survived, however. Second assistant James Marshall, the son of keeper William Marshall, drowned. The fishermen were awarded the Lighthouse Establishment's gold medal of the first class for their efforts, the highest honor bestowed by the government for saving lives. Several years later, the keepers were forced to leave the structure through the windows at the end of the shipping season because massive amounts of ice had formed on the pier and blocked the doors.

The Annual Report of 1887 noted the poor condition of the crib at Spectacle Reef, which had been intended as a temporary structure during construction and to be cleared away when the tower was completed. It remained because the Lighthouse Board decided to install a fog signal at the light station as an afterthought to the original design. It was necessary to retain the crib so its deck could accommodate the fog signal machinery. Similar crib foundations built on the Great Lakes usually lasted from 12 to 15 years.

In 1889, eighteen years after the wooden crib had first been placed on Spectacle Reef, it was in a state of decay. A $15,000 congressional appropriation that year paid for the damaged crib work to be torn away and rebuilt, along with other minor repairs to the fog signal and the tower. Between 1903 and 1904, the Lighthouse Board received a total of $98,000 to entirely reconstruct the foundation. The work accomplished included building two coal cellars, a provision cellar, and an oil cellar within the new portion of the pier. A new fog signal building and a boathouse were built on the pier deck in 1906, and a brick oil house in 1909.

In July 1939, the Lighthouse Service was abolished as a separate federal agency, and its duties subsumed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Spectacle Reef Light Station continued to be manned by four keepers, as it had since 1874. Alfred E. Schreiber, one of the keepers at Spectacle Reef in 1953, described his duties and personal experiences at the isolated lighthouse in an article entitled, "Spectacle Reef Light Station - 1953." The work schedule was 24 days on duty followed by a six-day leave ashore. Three men were required to be on duty at all times while the fourth was on leave, in rotation. Much to the chagrin of the men on duty, weather sometimes delayed the return of the man on leave. The three on-duty keepers rotated eight-hour shifts. In addition to cooking and cleaning, they were required to watch the fog signal equipment and generators, wind the clockwork every four hours when the light was flashing, and contact the Coast Guard onshore in Cheboygan via radiotelephone at 0800 and 1600 hours. The keepers also coordinated trips to Cheboygan for groceries. Schreiber recalled severe storms in the early spring and late fall when waves pounding the crib and tower quickly transformed into layers of ice. As the keepers counted down the days until the close of the shipping season, they winterized the equipment, closed the steel shutters, lit the winter light, and awaited the Coast Guard buoy tender's arrival, which took them to shore until spring.

A tragedy occurred at Spectacle Reef Light Station after the keepers left for the winter of 1958 to1959. Master Sergeant William J. Wyman of the U.S. Air Force vanished on 2^nd February 1959 while flying from Batavia, New York to Kinross Air Force Base near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Although the search was called off by 5^th March, it resumed after a letter written by Wyman was discovered at Spectacle Reef by a U.S. Coast Guardsman and one of the keepers readying the station for the beginning of shipping season. The letter described Wyman's plane crash and how he had reached the lighthouse. After his plane's engine failed at an altitude of 5,000 feet, Wyman brought the aircraft down in an area of ice-free water. He then jumped onto an ice floe and drifted until it joined the ice packed around the light station. Wyman entered the lighthouse, lit a fire, and began sending SOS calls by blinking the lighthouse optic, but to no avail. His letter reads, "Right now I am deliberating whether to stay here or cross the ice. From the chart I will have 11 miles to travel. The ice looks very bad. There are large water holes, thin ice which has been broken into pieces by the wind yesterday." The stranded pilot never reached his destination and was never heard from again.

Spectacle Reef Light Station was automated in 1972. At that time, it ceased being manned by resident keepers. The lighthouse's second order Fresnel lens was removed in 1982 when it was replaced by a solar-powered optic. This Fresnel lens is currently displayed at the Great Lakes Historical Society Museum in Vermillion, Ohio. The Spectacle Reef Light Station's lantern is presently occupied by a modern VEGA VRB-25 optic characterized by a red flash every five seconds.

The report of the U.S. Coast Guard's 1994 biennial inspection of the light station relates that the structure was in good overall condition. It includes suggestions related to weather-proofing the lighthouse and makes note that the earlier addition of a sheet pile skirt around the perimeter of the foundation had stabilized and protected the underlying concrete and crib from wave action and ice.

Shipping, Commerce, and the Establishment of Navigational Aids on the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes system includes Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, connecting waterways, and the St. Lawrence River. It is one of the earth's largest concentrations of fresh water. The system has about 11,000 statute miles of shoreline and an overall water surface area of about 95,000 square miles. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 linked the port of Buffalo on Lake Erie with New York City via the Hudson River. This marks the beginning of a period of enormous growth in population, maritime traffic, and trade in the Great Lakes Region. The Welland Canal's opening in 1829 linked Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

Completion of the first St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal (Soo Locks) at Sault Ste. Marie in 1855 opened Lake Superior to vessels from the other Great Lakes. This completed one of the last major links in the regional navigation system. With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, the system provided access by ocean going deep-draft vessels to the industrial and agricultural heartland of North America. Small craft and barge traffic reach the Great Lakes from the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway, and from New York Harbor via the Hudson River and New York State Barge Canal System.

Maritime commerce grew rapidly on the Great Lakes throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. The early development of the region's lumber industry led to substantial expansion in marine traffic and a pressing need for aids to navigation. As early as 1852, over 4 million tons of shipments crossed the Great Lakes, largely consisting of lumber and grain. In the years to come, the production of iron ore in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and copper production in the Keweenaw region of the western Upper Peninsula, in addition to grain production from the northwest, furnished southbound cargoes. These shipments corresponded with the heavy movement of coal from ports in the lower Great Lakes. By 1910, the amount of shipped goods increased to 80 million tons, mainly iron ore and coal. In 1915, limestone emerged as an important bulk commodity in the region. Freight tonnage shipped reached a record of 217 million tons in 1948. The combined movement of lumber, grain, iron ore, and coal together with limestone cargoes from the Lake Huron area to the centers of steel production, resulted in the greatest bulk freight marine commerce the world has ever seen.

The need for aids to navigation on the Great Lakes increased along with the expansion of shipping and settlement. Seven lighthouses were built in the region between 1818 and 1822. Thirty-two lighthouses were completed during a building boom in the 1830s. From 1841 to 1852, the Lighthouse Establishment added an additional 33 new lights. Between 1852 and 1860, the total number of aids to navigation increased from 76 to 102. Another lighthouse construction boom occurred in the 1890s. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Great Lakes had 334 major lighted aids, 67 fog signals, and 563 buoys.

Several distinct designs or types of lighthouses emerged during the nineteenth century. Until 1870 or so, the most common design consisted of a wood, stone, or brick keeper's dwelling with the light exhibited in a lantern on the roof or in an attached square tower. By the 1870s, taller towers connected to a keeper's house by an enclosed passageway became popular. Lighthouse engineers practiced and perfected the construction of light stations on isolated islands, reefs, and shoals from 1870 to 1910. These offshore lighthouses most commonly rested on wooden submarine crib structures.

Light vessels also served as a substitute for building expensive lighthouses at several offshore sites during this time. However, harsh weather often forced lightships to leave their stations before the mid-December end of the Great Lakes shipping season. In the spring, lightships often had to wait until larger, stronger vessels broke a path through ice to allow returning to their stations. This meant that some dangerous areas might remain unmarked for a period of time before the shipping season ended and after it started in mid-April.

The building of new lighthouses gradually reduced the need for lightships through time. A major construction effort from the late 1920s and through the 1930s finally replaced the last remaining lightships on the Great Lakes with permanent aids to navigation. This effort to replace lightships with permanent structures was important in promoting safer travel and the increase of maritime commerce.

The civil engineer responsible for building the lighthouse on Spectacle Reef was Orlando Metcalfe Poe. During his career, he also directed the construction of several other improvements to the Great Lakes system of aids to navigation. Poe was born on 7^th March 1832 in Navarre, Ohio. He entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1852. Upon graduation, he accepted a position as assistant topographical engineer on the survey of the northern Great Lakes. At the start of the Civil War, Poe organized volunteer military units in Ohio. He soon became a member of General McClellan's staff in the Army of the Potomac. He attained the rank of colonel on 16^th September 1861 and was promoted to temporary brigadier general a year later. His assignments included serving as chief engineer of the Army of Ohio. In April 1864, Poe's accomplishments earned him the position of Chief Engineer under General Sherman.

After the Civil War, Poe assumed a lower military rank as Engineer Secretary of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. He was charged with supervising building projects in the upper Great Lakes. Promoted to the rank of major in 1870, Poe was responsible for all aspects of lighthouse construction in that area. He commenced building Spectacle Reef Light Station in that year. Poe often employed the same set of architectural elements in his lighthouse designs, thus creating the "Poe style" tower. Most of his towers were terrestrial, masonry structures that gently tapered from bottom to top. Specific features of these structures included gallery support corbels and arched window openings. The limestone tower at Spectacle Reef provides an example of gallery support corbels. Poe's use of arches is evident throughout the interior from doorway openings to interior window surrounds, to the vaults of the ceilings.

Three examples of Poe's terrestrial towers are Grosse Point Light Station, Presque Isle Light Station, and Outer Island Light Station.

In 1883, Poe was named Superintending Engineer for improvements to rivers and harbors on Lakes Superior and Huron. He became instrumental in developing navigation improvements along the St. Mary's River. He is also responsible for major navigation improvements in the Detroit River and ship channels at Chicago, Illinois, Duluth, Minnesota, and Buffalo, New York. Poe is probably best remembered for designing and supervising the construction of a new lock at Sault St. Marie during the 1890s. It improved commerce throughout the Great Lakes significantly. In honor of Poe's achievement and numerous contributions, this lock was christened "Poe Lock." Another structure built in Lake Huron in 1929 also carries his name, the Poe Reef Light Station. After a long and successful career, Orlando Metcalfe Poe died on 2^nd October 1895. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Site Description

The Spectacle Reef Light Station marks dangerous underwater rock formations at the northern end of Lake Huron, approximately 28 miles east of the Straits of Mackinac. The property includes a crib foundation, concrete pier, light tower, and fog signal building. The tower is conical, five stories tall, and built of limestone. It supports a second-order lantern with a red, domed roof. This tower was built in 1870 to 1874. The station's fog signal building is attached to the base of the tower. It is one story tall, made of steel plates, and was constructed in 1906. The fog signal building is painted white with a red, hipped roof. The tower and fog signal building rest on the deck of a concrete pier supported by a wooden crib filled with concrete. This light station property is owned by the United States Coast Guard and operated as an automated aid to navigation.

The pier is constructed of wooden cribs and concrete, and measures approximately 89 feet square. A concrete skirt exists around the perimeter of the pier and extends approximately 7 feet above the surface of the water. Steel sheet piling is attached to the lower portion of the skirt. Above this, steel plates are bolted to the concrete walls for protection from ice. Metal ladders are attached to each of the pier's four sides, providing access between the water and the piers deck. The sides of these ladders rise above the deck and cur over onto the deck providing handrails. The light tower rises from the center of the pier. The fog signal building is attached to the south side of the tower. A crane/boat hoist is bolted to a circular, concrete platform at the northwest corner of the deck.

The tower is constructed of interlocking limestone blocks. It measures 93 feet in height and is 32 feet in diameter at the base. The base is not visible because it is located below the deck of the pier and attached via bolts to the underwater rock formation. The tower diameter at the top of the pier is 27 feet, 9 inches. From there upward, it tapers gradually to 18 feet in diameter at the spring of the cornice. The first 34 feet of the tower is solid stone. Above this, the tower is hollow and divided into five stories. A square window opening pierces the north side of the tower at the first and fifth levels. Larger, rectangular window openings pierce the second, third, and fourth levels. Fenestration on the south side of the tower is identical to the north, except there is no square window at the first level. Instead of a south window, the tower's entrance is located here. It is hidden inside the fog signal building. A series of seven thin metal belts encircle the tower. The first band is under the second-floor windows and the last is below the fifth-story window.

The tower is topped by a wide cornice, which flares outward slightly to form the service room gallery. This gallery is enclosed by a three-tiered metal railing connected by twelve ornate stanchions. Between each stanchion are seventeen metal balusters, which alternate in size. Nine of the balusters connect at the bottom rail and are capped with ball finials just above the middle rail. The eight remaining balusters extend from the bottom rail and connect the top rail. A solar panel array is attached to a platform that rests on the floor of the service room gallery. The circular service room is approximately 10 feet in diameter and, like the tower, is constructed of limestone. Access between the service room and gallery is through a wooden double door in an opening in the wall.

Atop the service room is a cast iron and glass second-order lantern. It is surrounded by a narrow gallery bounded with a simple metal railing of vertical posts and a flat horizontal bar. The lantern is composed of three rows of glass plates; each row contains twelve plates. The thirty-six glass plates are held in place by cast iron mullions. Curved handles are attached to some of the mullions. These provided the keepers with an extra measure of safety while standing on the narrow gallery to clean the lantern glass. Above the top row of glass panes is a cornice from which springs a shallow, domed roof that is surmounted by a copper ventilator ball and a brass lightning rod spindle.

The tower is accessed through the one-story fog signal building. The rectangular fog signal building is bolted to the south side of the tower and is built on a north-south axis. It measures 24 feet by 26 feet. The walls are constructed of 0.25-inch thick steel plates riveted to a steel frame. Above the steel plates is a soffit from which rises a hipped roof. A dormer is centered on the roof's east slope. A metal double door pierces the east wall and a single metal door pierces the west wall. The double door is attached to the walls with long strap hinges. Fenestration on the fog signal building's east and south walls consists of four small, rectangular windows. There are three identical windows on the west wall. The windows are shuttered with a single steel plate attached by hinges on the left side of each window. One shutter is missing from the south wall.

Fog Signal Building

The walls are lined with brick and covered in plaster. Eleven windows pierce the walls. The sashes have been removed. There is no ceiling, thus the metal roof trusses are visible. The floor is the concrete of the pier deck. Two square openings are cut into the concrete and are covered by metal grates. The openings provide access to and ventilate the two coal storage areas located within the pier.

The only enclosed space inside the building is a bathroom. It is centered on and projects from the south wall. Two of the bathroom walls (north and east) and the ceiling are constructed of plywood. The west wall is the side of a brick chimney, which is also attached to the south wall of the building and extends from the floor through the roof. A doorway in the north wall allows access to the bathroom, though the door has been removed. The bathroom floor is partially covered with small ceramic tiles. The plywood walls are plastered and the lower half is covered in tile. The toilet, sink, shower, and medicine cabinet have all been removed. To the left of and adjacent to the bathroom doorway is a metal ladder, which extends to the top of the bathroom wall. The ladder permits access to a metal platform, supported by metal posts, fitted into the southeast corner of the building. The platform is a few feet higher than the top of the bathroom.

On the building's north side opposite the bathroom, chimney, and platform, there is a metal staircase that provides access to the tower. The staircase begins in the northwest corner of the building. Five stairs ascend to a landing and six more stairs lead to a walkway parallel to the tower wall. The treads of the staircase are embossed with a diamond pattern. The staircase is both bolted to the walls of the tower and fog signal building and is supported by metal posts and I-beams.

Overall, the fog signal building is in fair condition. The walls and ceiling exhibit layers of cracking and peeling gray and black paint, and the red paint on the floor is worn. There is a large hole in the bathroom ceiling. Plywood scraps lean against the chimney flue, and empty plastic jugs sit on the floor by the bathroom. The original tower windows and storm shutters are stored on the walkway outside the tower entrance.

Access to the tower is through a large rectangular doorway opening in the thick tower wall. A modern, wooden door with a metal handle is hinged flush with the interior tower wall. This door is not as tall as the doorway opening. The space above this door is enclosed with plywood boards. The tower's first level was originally used as a storeroom. The second, third, and fourth levels served as living quarters. The fifth level served as the watch room. The tower is constructed as a double wall system. The outer limestone wall on the first level is 5 feet, 6.3 inches thick. This wall gradually narrows, measuring 18 inches thick at the spring of the cornice. A 4-inch thick brick interior wall is separated from the outer wall by 2 inches of airspace. This inner wall does not reflect the taper of the exterior. It has the same diameter (14 feet) from top to bottom. The five levels vary slightly in height. Four flights of stone stairs provide access from one to another inside the tower. Each flight begins on the south end of each level and ascends clockwise to the north end of the level above. A helical iron staircase extends from the fifth level/watch room floor through an opening in the floor of the service room.

Level 1

A decorative wood casing surrounds the entrance and is the full height of the opening. The area above the door is filled with insulation. The interior walls are plastered and painted. The floor is covered in non-ceramic tiles. The vaulted ceiling is constructed of brick that is arched between a series of steel bulb beams and covered in plaster. Like the walls, it is also painted. Directly opposite the entrance is the room's only window-a small square opening containing a single piece of vented Plexiglas. Due to the thickness of the tower walls the window is neither flush with the interior wall nor the exterior wall. A brickwork window seat is set into the tower wall below the window opening. A brickwork segmental arch in the wall surrounds this window and seat. It begins at the floor and extends to just below the ceiling. In addition, the areas perpendicular to the sides and bottom of the window are angled so that a maximum amount of light may enter the room while limiting the opening's actual size. An interior wall located on the west side of the tower separates the room from the staircase. The entrance to the stairs is adjacent to the tower entrance. Under the staircase is a storage closet. Both the entrance to the stairs and the closet are surrounded by wooden casings that reflect the segmental arch of the openings. The top of the closet opening is enclosed so that the doorway appears rectangular. The center of the brick interior wall between the two doorways contains an arched, semicircular alcove. Attached to the wall above this alcove is a rectangular, wooden shelving unit. Overall, this room is in good condition. The gray floor tiles are intact, though the beige paint on the walls and ceiling is peeling.

Level 2

A flight of fourteen stairs terminates at the second level's entrance. This level was used as a kitchen. The entrance is surrounded by a casing identical to, and directly above, that of the first-level closet. The floor, walls, and ceiling are similar to the level below. The blue-green floor tiles are in good condition. The blue and white paint on the walls and ceiling is peeling badly. This room contains two rectangular window openings bordered by recessed segmental arches in the brickwork wall. Each window opening contains a single piece of vented Plexiglas. A small, double-door cabinet sits beneath each window. One has a counter on top and the other supports a double sink. Built-in cabinetry extends from the floor to the ceiling along the interior stairwell wall. The doorway to the ascending staircase is identical to the one below.

Level 3

A flight of fourteen stairs terminates at the entrance to the third level. The two windows and two doorways are identical to those of the second level. The tile floor and light gray walls are in good condition.

Level 4

A flight of fourteen stairs terminates at the entrance to the fourth level. The two windows and two doorways are similar to those of the floors below. The area above the entrance between level three and four contains a single, fixed glass pane.

Level 5/Watch Room

A flight of fourteen stairs terminates at the entrance to the fifth level or watch room. The casing around this entrance is identical to those below and the arched top is not enclosed. Behind the entrance and above the stairs is a closet. It contains a work table and shelving. Two square window openings pierce opposite walls and contain single pieces of vented Plexiglas. Unlike the floors below, the window frames and casings are flush with the interior wall. A shallow, square frame in brickwork is set into the wall around the windows. The room features a cove ceiling with a wide, yet simple, cornice. Above the cornice are three cast iron quarter panels that form the floor of the service room above. The watch room walls are painted blue, while the trim work and ceiling panels are painted white.

Adjacent to the north-facing window is a flue. It extends from the floor and exits through the cove ceiling to the gallery above. This flue is not straight but rather curves up the wall. Near the top is a closed-off circular opening for a stove pipe. A square box is attached to the wall near the flue. This was the drop tube for the system of weights that turned the light and created its flash pattern.

There is a helical, free standing, iron staircase (15 steps) parallel to the stairwell/closet wall. Its treads are embossed with a diamond pattern and there are no risers. Balusters extend from the inside edge of every third tread and carry a solid rounded handrail.

Lantern: Service and Lens Rooms

The lower portion or service room of the lantern is accessed through an opening in the watch room ceiling/service room floor. Like the tower below, the service room is constructed as a double-wall system. The 4-inch thick, interior brick wall is covered in plaster and separated from the 12-inch thick, exterior limestone wall by an air space 2 inches wide. The cast iron floor is embossed with a diamond pattern. A large circular indention in the floor's center indicates where the original pedestal for the second-order lens once stood. An electrical panel box and cabling hang on the wall. Wet cell batteries sit on the floor. The wall contains three vents and a set of studded cast iron doors that provide access to the main gallery. The room's ceiling is open for the most part. The pedestal for the second-order lens would have extended from the floor to the service room's top. A cast iron apron extends around this room's perimeter inside the tower. It extends outward beyond the tower walls to form the narrow lantern gallery. A metal ship's ladder (8 rungs) ascends to the top of this apron inside the upper portion of the lantern.

The twelve-sided second-order lantern atop the tower measures 10 feet, 1.5 inches in diameter. Twelve S-curved cast-iron panels rise from the top of the glass window panels and meet at a round ventilator opening. A series of metal rods, bars, struts, and hooks are attached to the ceiling and to the walls above the glass panels. This equipment originally helped support the Fresnel lens and held curtains that would be closed when the lens was not in use. These curtains helped protect the fragile prisms of the lens. The formerly open area in the lantern's center is now covered with hard green, plastic lattice flooring. A metal pedestal is bolted to the center of this plastic lattice floor. It supports a modern VRB-25 Marine Rotating Beacon.

Changes over Time

There have been considerable changes to the light station from when it was originally conceived and designed to the present. Many of these changes are not outwardly apparent. The pier on which the light tower appears to rest was not originally designed as a permanent structure. It includes four wooden cribs connected at the corners that initially provided a sheltered area in which a cofferdam was constructed. This cofferdam was pumped free of water to enable workmen to build the light tower's limestone foundation directly upon the underlying bedrock, 11 feet below the water's surface. Prior to the tower's completion, the light station's function was expanded to include a fog signal. Since the tower did not have space for the fog signal equipment, the temporary pier was retained to accommodate it. Repairs were made to the pier as early as 1889. Between 1904 and 1906, it was completely reconstructed. The light station's original crib was 92 feet square and divided into compartments. It had a central opening 48 feet square where the cofferdam was placed. The wooden crib's compartments were filled with rocks to sink it into position. After the tower was completed, the crib's central space was also filled with rock. Work began in 1904 to remove the rock fill and timbers from the crib's compartments and fill it with concrete. This work included filling the central square around the tower with concrete. Two coal cellars, a provision cellar, and an oil cellar were built within the crib's concrete fill above the lake's water level. The top of the crib was 14 feet above water level. It was surfaced with concrete to form a solid deck. The fog signal building and a boathouse were built atop the pier deck adjacent to the tower. The fog signal building was connected to the south side of the tower with bolts. The boat house was constructed on the tower's north side on an east-west axis and was not attached to the tower. In addition, pillar cranes were added to the deck's northwest and southeast corners.

The next major change to the station came in 1909 when a brick oil house with a shed roof was constructed on the west side of the fog signal building. It was built because the pier's oil cellar had been filling with water, rendering it unusable for its intended purpose. The oil house and boat house no longer exist. They may have been removed in the 1970s after the light was automated and the station became unmanned. Also, the crane on the pier's southeast corner has been removed.

The light station structure also formerly included a tall brick chimney protruding from the south side of the fog signal building's roof, and a metal smokestack that rose from the tower's service room gallery. Neither still exists. Early historic photos of the station show the fog signal station was painted a dark color and the roofs were unpainted. In addition, the pier deck was enclosed with a two-tiered chain railing supported by metal stanchions.

There have also been a number of changes inside the light tower. A description of the station completed in 1907 indicates that a single iron plate door was present in each doorframe within the tower, two on each of the five levels, and all interior doorways had two-light transoms. The tower windows then were double casement windows that opened outward. The tower's rectangular shaped windows had four lights and the square windows had two lights. These windows are currently stored in the fog signal building.

Improvements to the concrete pier after 1906 included constructing a concrete skirt from its base to approximately 7 feet above the lake's water level. Photographic evidence suggests that this concrete skirt was added after 1921 and before 1934. The skirt's lower portion was later enclosed with sheet pile, and the piers sides above this had steel sheeting bolted to the concrete walls for protection against ice.

The lighthouse's original second order Fresnel lens was first illuminated on 1^st June 1874 using an oil lamp. By the 1950s, a single electric bulb provided the light for the lens. While the light was automated in 1972, its Fresnel lens was not removed until 1982 when it was replaced by a solar-powered optic. The Spectacle Reef Light Station's original Fresnel lens is presently on display at the Great Lakes Historical Society Museum in Vermillion, Ohio.