By James Heinz
The lighthouse at the end of the breakwater at the entrance to Manitowoc harbor has recently opened for tours. I took the first tour of it with Wisconsin Maritime Museum staffer Lizzy Farrey-Luerssen and Dennis Huckens of the Manitowoc Sunrise Rotary. The public is welcome to walk out for pictures as well.
The lighthouse was built in 1918. It is 52 feet high and has five floors. The breakwater level power room contained an electrical generator, which was first powered by kerosene. The generator produced so much heat that it heated the entire structure through vents in each floor that allowed the hot air to rise throughout the building.
Originally a red fifth order Fresnel lens was installed but was later replaced by a fourth order lens. It was originally equipped with a compressed air Type F diaphone (the technical name for a foghorn) until it was replaced by an electric diaphone in the 1960s. Both foghorns still remain.
The foghorn from the 1960s
Because of the foghorn, it was perhaps fortunate that no one lived in the lighthouse. The keepers lived in a house on Maritime Drive overlooking the lighthouse. They commuted to work by an elevated catwalk, which has since been removed, that ran from the shore to the lighthouse.
In 2012, the lighthouse was auctioned off for $30,000 to Long Island lighthouse aficionado Phil Carlucci, who said, “I didn’t know anything about Manitowoc except that I have a friend who drives a big red crane.” Carlucci spent over $300,000 to enable the Sunrise Rotary to restore the lighthouse. The Coast Guard still retains ownership of the lantern room with its still operating light. The Coasties visit once a year for maintenance.
Tours of the lighthouse can be arranged through the Wisconsin Maritime Museum https://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/visit/lighthouse-tours/
And if the name of our tour guide sounds familiar, you may remember her as the person who wisely refused to provide live ammunition when I narrowly avoided Hollywood stardom in Manitowoc in a previous story: https://wmhs.org/how-i-narrowly-escaped-hollywood-stardom-in-manitowoc/
Photos by James Heinz.
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James Heinz is the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s acquisitions director. He became interested in maritime history as a kid watching Jacques Cousteau’s adventures on TV. He was a Great Lakes wreck diver until three episodes of the bends forced him to retire from diving. He was a University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee police officer for thirty years. He regularly flies either a Cessna 152 or 172.
