Digest>Archives> July 1996

Au Sable Lens Relocation

By Gregg L. Bruff

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The massive third order Fresnel lens which once beamed a warning to mariners from the Au Sable Light Station west of Grand Marais, Michigan, will be "going home" this spring announced Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Superintendent Grant Petersen. Its return will mark the end of a 39-year absence.

The six foot high lens, which was cast in France, was removed by the US Coast Guard when the station was closed in 1957. After being crated up, it was shipped to a storage facility in Cleveland when Lakeshore staff secured its permanent return to Lake Superior in 1972. Through the years, the glass lens has been displayed at park headquarters and the Grand Marais Maritime Museum.

Today the lens represents a priceless icon of the US Lighthouse Establishment and the Coast Guard, the organizations that staffed the station beginning on August 19, 1874. The 6,750 candlepower light from the 270 degree beam could be seen over 11 miles out on the lake.

Return of the lens to the tower is part of an overall restoration of the Au Sable Light Station that has been pursued by the Lakeshore for several years. Each summer, thousands of park visitors tour the station and grounds with a National Park Service ranger or volunteer interpreter to learn "wickie" history. This summer, volunteer Lyle Peterson and Park Ranger Henry Toll are the principal tour guides for the station. Reinstallation of the lens in the 87-foot high brick tower will be another milestone in the restoration and interpretation of this regional cultural resource.

To commemorate the Lakeshore's 30th and the lens' 122nd anniversaries, the park is planning an Au Sable relighting ceremony on Sunday, August 18. Festivities will include remarks by US Coast Guard and Great Lakes Lightkeepers Association officers, guided tours of the station, a maritime troubadour, and a visit by a historical interpreter "reincarnated" keeper. Weather permitting, a flotilla of private watercraft will be guided to the station by Park Ranger boats and a US Coast Guard rescue boat. The evening will culminate in the re-lighting ceremony at dusk.

Future plans for use and management of the Au Sable Light Station are being developed through a Historic Structures Report and Cultural Landscape Plan. As a part of these long-term management documents, the Lakeshore is looking for any old photographs, diaries, equipment, or reminiscences that area residents may have about Au Sable, or the US Lighthouse Service or US Coast Guard on Lake Superior.

If you have information on resources of this nature, or would like additional information on the activities at Au Sable Light Station, please contact Gregg L. Bruff, Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, P.O. Box 40, Munising, MI 49862; telephone (906) 387-2607.

Gregg Bruff is Chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resources at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

This story appeared in the July 1996 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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