LIGHTHOUSE PHOTOS
Click photo to enlarge
Baltimore Harbor Lighthouse - Courtesy BaltimoreLight.org
Baltimore Harbor Light - National Park Service
Baltimore Light, 1901
Installation of 4,600 pound atomic generator SNAP-7B in Baltimore Light by U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender WHITE PINE"; 20 May 1964; photo by PHC Meyer, USCG
|
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Designated Waterway: Chesapeake Bay
The Baltimore Harbor Light in it's original location. The Baltimore Harbor Light is located at the south entrance to Baltimore Channel, Chesapeake Bay, off the mouth of the Magothy River.
The Baltimore Harbor Light is one of the last lighthouses built on the Chesapeake Bay. The fact that it was built at all is a testimony to the importance of Baltimore as a commercial port. The original appropriation request to Congress for a light at this location was made in 1890 and $60,000 was approved four years later. However, bottom tests of proposed sites showed a 55 foot layer of semi-fluid mud before a sand bottom was hit. This extreme engineering challenge made construction of a light within the proposed cost impossible. An additional $60,000 was requested and finally appropriated in 1902. Even then, the project had to be re-bid because no contractor came forth within the allotted budget. Finally, the contract was awarded to William H. Flaherty (who had built the Solomon’s Lump and Smith Point lights).
The materials were gathered and partially assembled at Lazaretto Point Depot, then towed to the site and lowered to the bottom in September 1902. As excavation progressed, heavy seas tilted the cylinder. Later on October 12th, a storm pushed it over so it lay on its side. At this point, the contractor ceased work. Instead of returning the following Spring, as planned, Flaherty defaulted and his company later went into receivership. The resulting legal problems further complicated the situation. It was not until the fall of 1905 that construction resumed under the guidance of the surety company - U. S. Fidelity and Guaranty Co. A pier was built around the sunken caisson to hold worker housing, and the huge amount of machinery needed to right the structure. By that time, many of the iron caisson plates were severely damaged and needed to be replaced. By 1907 the cylinder had been righted and work progressed. When completed, the caisson stood 82 feet below sea level, on top of 91 piles driven into the bottom. It was the tallest caisson light in the world at the time. The brick dwelling / light tower was constructed the following year and the light was outfitted with a fourth order Fresnel lens and commissioned October 1, 1908.
Baltimore Harbor Lighthouse consists of a three story octagonal brick cottage constructed atop a one hundred and three foot tall concrete and stone filled cast-iron caisson. The main deck of the cottage houses a sitting room, a storage area and the galley. The second deck holds the keepers quarters in two bedrooms. The third deck is one large open space, known as the watchroom. With windows facing North, South, East and West, the watchroom provides a 360 degree view. Atop the the 3rd story sits the lantern room. Connecting these levels is a spiral staircase that leads from the lantern room to the cellar floor, ten feet into the caisson.
In 1923 the fog bell was replaced with a fog horn and the light was converted to run off acetylene. On May 1 of the same year, the light was automated and the keeper transferred to Point No Point Light.
In May 1964 the light was converted to run off power supplied by a small atomic reactor, making it the first nuclear-powered lighthouse in the world. This experiment only lasted a year and the concept was not pursued further.
The above was researched and written by Matthew B. Jenkins, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society.
| Location Type |
Offshore |
|
Construction Type |
Caisson |
| Original Optics |
Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Current Optics |
Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Year Built |
1908 |
| Builder: |
William H. Flaherty and United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co. |
| Operational: |
Yes |
| Date Deactivited: |
|
| Automated: |
Yes |
|
Markings: |
Red caisson base with white superstructure. |
| Shape: |
Three story octagonal brick cottage constructed atop a one hundred and three foot tall concrete and stone filled cast-iron caisson |
| Height: |
55 feet |
| Focal
Plane Height: |
52 feet |
| Range: |
white -7 miles, red - 5 miles |
| Sound
Signal Building: |
No |
| Sound
Device: |
Initially bell, replaced with a horn by 1923 |
| Existing
Keepers Quarters: |
Integrated |
| Current
Use: |
Active ATON |
| Current
Owner/Manager: |
Coast Guard partnership with Baltimore Harbor Light Preservation and Restoration Campaign |
| Open to
the Public: |
No |
| Web
Site: |
Baltimore Harbor Light |
National Register Status:
The lighthouse was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 2 December 2002.
Miscellaneous
|
