PHOTO EDIT BY CHELSEA MAMEROW
1. Rawley Point Lighthouse
Operated by the Coast Guard since 1853, the lighthouse north of Two Rivers was built as a brick tower and served mariners until 1894, when a new steel tower was installed. The new tower’s light is one of the largest and brightest on the Great Lakes, visible up to 19 miles away.
2. Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse
Constructed in 1906, the 50-foot-tall structure is privately owned but still functions as an active lighthouse for the Kenosha harbor. Local artist John Burhani used it as his studio from 2011 until his death in 2015, and the lighthouse has periodically been decorated with murals to honor his memory.
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3. Kewaunee Lighthouse
In the 1880s, an increase in ship traffic required that a small wood-framed light be placed at the end of one of two 500-foot piers extending from the Kewaunee harbor. The structure shown here was built in 1912 and is undergoing a restoration expected to take years.
4. Superior Entry Lighthouse
Walling off Duluth-Superior’s valuable harbor from Lake Superior are twin sand spits extending from each state’s mainland. At the end of the 3-mile Wisconsin Point is this 55-foot lighthouse built on a breakwall in 1913. The interior is closed to the public, but its grounds are a popular ship watching spot.
5. Port Washington Breakwater Lighthouse
The 78-foot Art Deco tower was completed in 1935 for an estimated cost of just $38,000. Large arches line the cement base, so as not to obstruct mariners’ view. A largely state-funded restoration effort is expected to be completed later this year.
6. Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse
The cupola of this 107-year-old lighthouse rises 52 feet above the lake, and its light is now automated. The structure is privately owned by a New York businessman, who in 2018 reportedly spent more than $300,000 to restore and repaint it.
7. Wind Point Lighthouse
Designed by Orlando Metcalfe Poe, who rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Civil War, this light north of Racine was lit for the first time on Nov. 15, 1880 – and continues to shine today. Its tower stands 108 feet tall, and the interior is occasionally open to the public.
8. Lakeside Park Lighthouse
Not every Wisconsin lighthouse is on a Great Lake! This Fond du Lac structure on Lake Winnebago was completed in 1933, and today its 40-foot observation tower is open to visitors.
9. Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Although modest, the twin Upper and Lower Range Lights have navigated ships into Baileys Harbor on the lake side of Door County since 1869. In 1937, local residents formed The Ridges Sanctuary to protect the lighthouses’ surrounding acreage, and the nature preserve’s staff and volunteers are now the keepers.
10. Asylum Point Lighthouse
The quaint lighthouse without a light, built in 1937, sits on a man-made island in Lake Winnebago, just off Oshkosh and just south of Winnebago Mental Health Institute. It was rejected by the state as a navigational light and never lit. Visitors can access it via a bridge from the mainland.
