Year first constructed 1826 Automated 1960 Area 2 ha Phone +1 716-366-5050 | Year first lit 1875 Foundation Dressed Stone Opened 1826 Architectural style Stick style | |
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Construction Rubblestone encased in brick Address 1 Point Dr N, Dunkirk, NY 14048, USA Similar Fort Niagara Light, South Buffalo North Sid, Sodus Outer Light, Cold Spring Harbor Li, Horse Island Light Profiles | ||
Dunkirk light house
Dunkirk Light, also known as Point Gratiot Light, is an active lighthouse located at Point Gratiot on Lake Erie in New York state.
Contents
The lighthouse was established in 1826 and the current tower was first lit in 1875. The lighthouse was automated in 1960 and is still operational. The foundation is made out of dressed stone and the lighthouse is made out of rubblestone encased in brick. The tower is a square shaped tower. The upper two thirds is white and the lower one third is natural and the lantern housing is red. The original lens is a third order Fresnel lens installed in 1857 and is still in operation. Its being still in use makes it a rarity. Only 70 such lenses are operational in the United States, 16 being on the Great Lakes of which two are in New York. At the entrance to the park property is the South Buffalo North Side Light, formerly located in Buffalo Harbor. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Point Gratiot Lighthouse Complex in 1979.
Cultural
The Dunkirk Lighthouse is open daily except Sunday. Guided tours include climb to the top of the lighthouse, Veteran museums and gift shop.
The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Dunkirk (Point Gratiot) Light with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.