Lorain West Breakwater Lighthouse
⎯⎯⎯
Saving the Lorain Lighthouse

Lorain West Breakwater Lighthouse, also, Saving the Lorain Lighthouse. . On October 22, 1913, Congress appropriated $35,000 to build a light- and-fog station at Lorain harbor. Construction began after plans were approved in 1916. The concrete structure was finished and light placed in service in 1917, but the station was not completed until 1919. The lighthouse’s foundation is comprised of a wooden crib and boxes filled with stone. The lighthouse consists of a basement and three floors, topped by a lantern room. Like others, this lighthouse had its own identifying signals, namely, the duration of the fog horn’s blast and the rotation and duration of the light. A fourth order Fresnel lens was installed in 1919 and lit with an incandescent oil vapor lamp. The lamp was converted to electric power in 1932. The lighthouse was manned by the U.S. Lighthouse Service, a civilian organization, until the U.S. Coast Guard took control of all U.S. lighthouses in 1939. , The Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse in 1965 and it was scheduled for demolition later that year. Inclement weather, a concerned-citizens group, and subsequent community interest convinced the Coast Guard to retain the historic lighthouse in 1966. During the following decade, a Save-the-Lighthouse committee led a campaign to preserve the structure. The Lorain County Historical Society acquired the lighthouse in 1977 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 1990 the lighthouse became the property of the Lorain Lighthouse Foundation, formerly the Port of Lorain Foundation. Among those providing support to the Foundation in 1991 were pupils from 24 of the city’s public and private schools. Students collected 2,861 pounds of pennies valued at $5,000.05. Since the lighthouse was saved in the mid-1960’s, community volunteers have worked diligently to preserve Lorain’s “Jewel of the Port.”