Mackinac Lighthouse

Lighthouse short history: The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse "grew out of the fog station." In March 1891, Congress finally authorized the funding for a light station and the board acted quickly. Bidding was difficult, but in 1892, "on a foundation of ashlar limestone, the tower and attached keeper’s dwelling were both constructed of Cream City brick, trimmed with Indiana Limestone. The double-walled cylindrical tower was laid with an outside diameter of 13 feet 4 inches, and as each course was added, rose to a height of 45 feet (14 m), surmounted by a circular iron gallery and an 8-foot-8-inch diameter watch room, which was in turn capped by a prefabricated octagonal iron lantern." The lens is a fourth order Fresnel Lens. Its light was visible for 16 miles, which made it "particularly valuable" to the railroad car ferries SS Chief Wawatam and SS Sainte Marie operating between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace.

Printed on canvas and stretched. Finished size of 16" x 24", and signed. It is also available as a 12" x 18" printed on heavy watercolor paper or as an A2 size (4.25" x 5.5") notecard.