SKU: 5654

Milwaukee¿s 1888 North Point Lighthouse has recently been restored to its early 20th century charm by the North Point Lighthouse Friends. Located in one of Milwaukee¿s first public parks, it is one of the oldest structures in the now urban area. It rests on a two acre semi wooded parcel in the heart of Lake Park and played an important role in the area¿s maritime trade and economic growth for more that 120 years. It symbolizes a time in history when waterways were the highways between cities and water travel opened the growth of commerce throughout the Great Lakes regions.

In 1888, a 39-foot octagonal cast-iron tower and the 2-1/2 story frame keeper's dwelling were built to replace an 1855 brick structure that was closer to the beach and threatened by erosion. The Fourth Order Fresnel lens, manufactured by Benard & Turenne of Paris, consists of four 90-degree panels that create a flash pattern as they rotate. In 1908, it was determined that surrounding trees were beginning to block the light. A new steel structure was built next to the light and the existing cast-iron tower was placed on top the new 35-foot structure. The new light tower is 74 feet tall and produces a light 154 above the level of Lake Michigan and is visible up to 21 miles. Lake Park is one of Milwaukee¿s first public parks and was designed in the late 1890s by Frederick Law Olmstead. Olmstead was one of the 19th century¿s foremost American landscape architects and the designer of New York¿s Central Park and the 1893 Chicago Exposition.

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