Monday, December 29, 2008

That's My World! Minnesota Lighthouses

A large part of the reason I went to Duluth in September was to see and photograph the lighthouses.

This is the Split Rock Lighthouse.


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The station derives its name from the appearance of the rock as it is approached from the open lake. The octagonal brick tower 54 feet in height was built in 1910. Because of the height of the rock, the light was 168 feet above the level of the lake and could be seen for 22 miles. An incandescent oil-vapor lamp was used inside the third-order lens, producing a light of 450,000 candlepower. The station was also equipped with a compressed air-operated diaphone fog signal, sounding a blast every 20 seconds in time of fog. Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the most frequently visited lighthouses in the United States. The light was discontinued in 1969.


This the Two Harbors Lighthouse


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Construction began on in the Spring of 1891. The light was first lit on April 15, 1892...
The light tower and keeper's house are attached. This allowed the keeper to go directly from his house to the tower. The tower is built three bricks thick. The house is built two bricks thick. So where the walls meet is five bricks thick. The idea behind this thickness was, with the oil that was used in lighting the lamps in the tower, there was a level of protection provided the keeper and his family.
The tower is about 12 feet square and 49'6" tall.


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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it! Beautiful Post for my World!

Cheers, Klaus

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Kayleen: I do love lighthouses and these two are beautiful.

Susan at Stony River said...

I've never seen a lighthouse quite like the second one, in red brick; it's lovely. Thanks for sharing the photos!

Arija said...

Great lighthouses, nice post.

Shannon said...

I just love lighthouses and you've captured them well.. Those are Lake Superior lighthouses aren't they?

Anonymous said...

I love lighthouses. Two beautiful snaps here.

Happy New Year.

Anonymous said...

Great shots! You know, I've never been to a light house. One of these days....

SandyCarlson said...

These are wonderful shots. I love lighthouses. Thanks.

Reader Wil said...

This is very interesting! I like your posts!

Lilli & Nevada said...

What a beautiful lighthouse i just love to see them

mannanan said...

Wow, I love lighthouses and these are just fantastic like none I've ever seen bfore. Thanks for sharing your world with us.

EG CameraGirl said...

Visiting lighthouses seems like a wonder reason to travel. Wonderful!

Ruth said...

I also love lighthouses! These are quite different and have roomy living quarters. Happy New Year.

Kathy W said...

Wonderful pictures! Wow you could almost put those on postcards.

maryt/theteach said...

I LOVE lighthouses! Thanks for sharing them! :)

Gaelyn said...

Nice lighthouse tour. I like the Split Rock.

Happy New Year!

Kerri Farley said...

OH I LOVE lighthouses! both of these are beautiful!!

Kathie Brown said...

Very nice MY World Post. I like them both!

Mojo said...

The Split Rock light looks similar to the one here at Ocracoke Island. Except we have to build 'em taller because their bases are pretty much right at sea level.

Great shots!

Powell River Books said...

We have lighthouses here on the west coast of Canada, but none as classic as that. Almost all of ours are unmanned these days as a cost savings measure, but in the old days they must have been very lonely places to live. - Margy

p.s. My family settled in Nebraska before moving west. Some stayed behind to cattle ranch, but our branch struck out for the coast at the turn of the last century.