Lighthouse
The Manistee North Pierhead Light is a tapering steel cylindrical tower, 38 feet tall with a nine sided eight foot lantern atop that was constructed on the north pier in 1927. The light is atop a U.S. Corps of Engineers 1,300 foot concrete pier approximately a quarter mile from the shoreline. The pier originates on the shoreline immediately adjacent to a public parking lot reached by Fifth Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. The U.S. Coast Guard Station is adjacent to the public parking lot. The adjacent shoreline is a municipal beach (Fifth Avenue Beach) and park.
The Manistee North Pierhead Light is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The Lighthouse has one of the four remaining catwalks on Lake Michigan. This catwalk is already owned and maintained by the City of Manistee. This preservation effort began in 1990. Due to safety concerns the Catwalk is not accessible to the public.The Manistee North Pierhead Light is on the National Register period of significance has been determined to be Ca. 1925-1940. This is the sixth structure in a 58 year period of continual modernization of the Manistee Lighthouse.
On June 30, 2011 the Manistee North Pierhead Light was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the City of Manistee and the Manistee County Historical Museum in a ceremony at Fifth Avenue Beach. In November 2009, the City of Manistee made application to the United States Department of the Interior National Park Service to transfer the decommissioned lighthouse to the City. A component of the application was a Concession Agreement with the Manistee County Historical Museum. The Museum will act as stewards for the Lighthouse and will be in charge of the Restoration Project.
The summer of 2016 saw the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse painted with a new sheen of white paint where it will continue to be a beacon for vessels in and out of the harbor as well as for residents and visitors of the City of Manistee. Currently, we are collecting donations for the painting of the interior of the lighthouse.
Please help us preserve the lighthouse! The museum is a 501(c)(3) and all donations to the lighthouse are tax deductible. You can click the DONATE button below or send a check or money order to:
Manistee County Historical Museum
425 River Street
Manistee, MI 49660
Please note in the memo that the check or money order is for the "Lighthouse".
The museum also stamps U.S. Lighthouse Passports with a Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse stamp. For more information please contact the museum.