Portland Breakwater Light

Lighthouse in Maine, US

Lighthouse

43°39′19.872″N 70°14′5.471″W / 43.65552000°N 70.23485306°W / 43.65552000; -70.23485306TowerConstructed1855

FoundationGranite block caissonConstructionIron plate with brick liningAutomated1934Height7.5 m (25 ft)

ShapeconicalMarkingsresembles 4th century Greek monumentHeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place

LightFirst lit1875 (current tower)Deactivated1942Focal height30 feet (9.1 m)LensSixth order fresnel, 1855CharacteristicFlashing white 4 s

Portland Breakwater Light

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

ArchitectThomas U. WalterArchitectural styleGreek RevivalNRHP reference No.73000238^[1]Added to NRHPJune 19, 1973

The Portland Breakwater Light (also called Bug Light) is a small lighthouse in South Portland, Maine, USA.^[2]^[3]

History

A lighthouse was first built here in 1855 as a wooden structure. The breakwater was extended and a new lighthouse was constructed at the end of it in 1875. The new lighthouse was made of curved cast-iron plates whose seams are disguised by six decorative Corinthian columns. Its design was inspired by the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, made well-known by engravings. The architect was Thomas U. Walter, most noted as the designer of the U.S. Capitol east and west wings and its current dome. Wooden sheds and a six-room house for the lighthouse-keeper were added incrementally as needed. In 1897, Spring Point Ledge Light was erected and the houses around Bug Light were demolished and the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse keepers tended to both lighthouses. During World War II, the breakwater was slowly absorbed by landfill as the New England Shipbuilding Corporation built two shipyards next to the lighthouse. These shipyards produced Liberty Ships for the war effort. Because of the smaller breakwater, there was less need for the lighthouse and it was decommissioned in 1943.^[2]

Restoration

The light was fully restored in 1989 and was reactivated in 2002. It appears as a private aid to navigation in the US Coast Guard Light List as South Portland Breakwater Light.^[3] A park named after the lighthouse, Bug Light Park, allows visitors to view the Portland Breakwater Light up close, while memorializing the shipbuilding efforts of World War II.^[4] The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Portland Breakwater Light on June 19, 1973, reference number 73000238.

Gallery

Bug Light before restoration (1962)
Corinthian columns
The first, wood, Portland Breakwater Light.
Bug Light as of July, 2018

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Maine". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. August 8, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2019. p. 64.
^ "Portland Breakwater Lighthouse". New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Archived from the original on March 18, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2024.

External links

Media related to Portland Breakwater Light at Wikimedia Commons

Lighthouses of Maine

Main: List of lighthouses in the United States

* Disputed territory claimed by Maine but de facto controlled by Canada

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