Tell us more about this small building, today’s Mystery Photo. Figure this out, then send your answer to ebrack2@gmail.com, and tell us where you live.
Yep, the last mystery was a stunning view of another lighthouse. As Holly Moore of Suwanee said, it was “Split Rock Lighthouse, located southwest of Silver Bay, Minn., on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The structure was designed by lighthouse engineer Ralph Russell Tinkham and was completed in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service for $75,000, including the buildings and the land.” The photo came from Mickey Merkel of Berkeley Lake.
Also recognizing the structure were Jay Altman, Columbia, S.C.; Debbie Bush, Duluth; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; Stewart Ogilvie, Rehobeth, Ala; Marsha Anderson Bomar, Duluth; Hoyt Tuggle, Buford; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas.
Peel added: “Today’s mystery photo is an aerial shot of the Split Rock Lighthouse perched precariously atop a 130-foot cliff along the eastern coastline of Minnesota, overlooking Lake Superior, approximately 45 miles northeast of Duluth.
The Split Rock Lighthouse was built in response to the devastating impact of the 1905 Mataafa Storm, which destroyed 29 vessels and killed 78 people on Lake Superior. Construction of this 54-foot-high tower began in June 1909 and was completed within 13 months, with the first light occurring on July 10, 1910.
“With a third-order Fresnel lens and a range of 22 nautical miles, the lighthouse remained an active navigational aid for nearly 70 years. With more modern and effective navigational aids available, and significant changes being made to the shipping routes, the lighthouse was considered obsolete, deactivated in 1969, and transferred to the Minnesota Historical Society, which now operates it as a historic site and museum.”
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