Erie Harbor North Pier Light

Erie Harbor North Pier Light
Location	Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, US
Coordinates	42°09′24″N 80°04′14″W / 42.1567°N 80.0706°W
Tower
Constructed	1858
Construction	wrought iron, steel
Automated	1995
Height	34 ft (10 m)
Shape	square pyramid
Markings	white, black (stripe)
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Light
Focal height	13 m (43 ft)
Lens	fourth order Fresnel lens (–1995)
Range	6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic	Fl R 2.5s (1995–), F R (–1995)

The Erie Harbor North Pier Light, also known as the Presque Isle North Pier Light, is one of the three lighthouses near Erie, Pennsylvania in the United States. The light, situated at the far eastern end of Presque Isle State Park, helps mariners as they traverse the narrow inlet between Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.^[1]

Originally constructed as a wooden tower in 1830, that light was swept away by a schooner in 1857.^[2] The current structure was forged in France and assembled on site in Erie. It was moved in 1882 and again in 1940. The United States Coast Guard, which operates the beacon, changed its fixed red beam to an automated red flashing light in 1995, at which time the 4th order Fresnel lens was sent to the Erie Maritime Museum. In 2021, the lighthouse was featured on a postage stamp as part of the Mid-Atlantic Lighthouse series done by the United States Postal Service. The image of the light on the stamp was one of the last works done by artist Howard Koslow.^[3]

Light on a pre-1930 postcard

References

^ "Erie Harbor North Pierhead Light". National Park Service. December 6, 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
^ Bates, Samuel P (1884). History of Erie County. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co.
^ Lighthouses Collector's Set. USA: United States Postal Service. 2021. p. 47.

References

Further reading