Split Rock Lighthouse Closed For Makeover
By Sue Clark on Mar 29, 2008 in News, Restoration 
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Access to Lighthouse Temporarily Limited
The grounds at Split Rock Lighthouse near Beaver Bay, MN, perched high on a bluff overlooking mighty Lake Superior since 1910, will be closed from April 1 until May 15 (normal opening date) for a major makeover. Scaffolding and netting have already been erected around this most dramatic of lights in preparation for the work. The Minnesota Historical Society, manager of this beacon, estimates the entire project will be completed by mid-July.
A Complete Restoration
Not only will the lantern room be painted inside and out, but twenty-seven curved glass windows will be removed, resealed and put back in place to prevent the leaking that occurs during storms. The 127 foot rock it sits on is exposed to Superior’s full force during gales and the station has taken a beating over the years. Besides the tower itself, the three brick keepers buildings will also undergo restoration as will the fog signal building and two wooden barns on the property.
The Process Of Restoration
The Lake County News Chronicle has posted an article about the restoration process. The tower, which will be repainted inside and out with black paint, will first be blasted with dry ice to remove the old. And a photo recently posted on Flickr (shown below) shows the lighthouse wearing its “Construction Cap” to protect it from the weather. And to protect the environment from the effects of the paint chips. The funding for this project is from a bond allocated to the Minnesota Historical Society in the 2006 legislative session.
lighthouse with a hat
Originally uploaded by lablover47
The Magnetic Anomaly at Split Rock
The huge iron ore deposits along the shore of Lake Superior, particularly between Two Harbors and Beaver Bay, play havoc with compasses. Mariners have long been advised to expect deviations of 2.2 degrees, and to be aware of sluggish reactions with the needle. This and two major back to back storms in 1905, led to the building of this station. The rock it’s built on was actually named Stony Point, but the lighthouse establishment inexplicably named it after the Split Rock River, two miles away. The station boasts dual foghorns, which can be heard five miles out. In fact, they have been known to spook horses five miles inland. And with their distinctive Bee-Oh sound every 20 seconds, unsuspecting guests at a hotel a few miles from the station would wonder what crazed beast was coming out of the wilds of Minnesota to attack.
The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1969, and the Second Order Fresnel (Bivalve style) is only lit once a year, on November 10, to commemorate the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and all the other ships and lives lost to the mighty Superior.
Photo Credits:
- Split Rock Lighthouse from Geodesic. Some rights reserved.
- Split Rock Keepers’ Houses from Bhs128. Some rights reserved.
- Split Rock Fog Signal Diaphones from Templarion. Some rights reserved.
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March 31st, 2008 at 3:30 am
[…] Sue Clark | Source: Lighthouse News The grounds at Split Rock Lighthouse near Beaver Bay, MN, perched high on a bluff overlooking […]