Buffalo Main Light One of the oldest
lighthouses on the Great Lakes, the octagonal carved Queenston limestone
tower of the Buffalo Main Light was erected in 1833. It is the second light
to be erected on this location and replaced a lesser light that had been
erected in 1818. That first beacon, and the old Erie Land light in Erie
Pennsylvania, were the first lighthouses official erected on the Great
Lakes. The opening of the Erie Canal
in 1825 generated increased vessel traffic, and intensified local claims
that the original light was too low and too dim. The existing light was
completed in 1833. It sits on an unusual 689 foot octagonal base with a
circular stone stairway. The original 57-foot tower received a Third Order
Fresnel lens in 1856, and the tower was raised three feet in 1905. The focal
plane was 76 feet above lake level. The watch room has deeply recessed
windows and the tower is capped by an 8-sided iron lantern room. In 1914, a damaged breakwater lighthouse,
located nearby, was restored and the stone tower was decommissioned. The
Third Order lens was transferred to the new breakwater light. When the
breakwater lighthouse was torn down in 1961, the Buffalo Historical Society
received the lens from the Coast Guard. Buffalo Main is located at the mouth of
the Buffalo River on USCG property, and may not be open to the public.
The grounds around the light have been developed into an outdoor museum that
also includes one of two original Buffalo Breakwater Bottle Lights.
From the grounds it also possible to see the ruins of the Horseshoe Reef
Light just off shore, and the new Buffalo Breakwater Light at the end of
the outer detached breakwater. From NY-5 (the Skyway) take the Fuhrmann
Blvd. exit (also marked USCG). Follow the signs to USCG Station. Park
outside the fence and walk toward the river. There is a separate gate that
opens into the walking museum alongside the Coast Guard Station. The Old
Buffalo Main and one of the old Bottle Lights are behind the CG buildings.
From there you can also see the Horseshoe Reef Ruins. If the USCG station has been secured, the
lights can be viewed from Erie Marine Park, just across the Buffalo
River. |
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