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QO50 - LIGHT HOUSE
Light House
About:
This light house is 130 cm tall and built from
hard wood. It is suitable for display in your living room corner or next to the
sofa.
Click on images to ENLARGE
Dimensions: 51"H
x 18"D x 15"W
History:
Light houses have enjoyed an almost three hundred year era of guiding ships
safely along their seafaring voyages. Every lighthouse had a keeper whose
responsibility it was to keep the fiery light of the beacon burning bright. The
houses were built along shipping lanes as well as other heavily-traveled areas
of the oceans and the seas. Their sole purpose was to assist the captains and
the crewman of passing ships to aid them in figuring out their locations. The
lighthouses also helped to warn the ships' crews of impending dangers such as
coral reefs, etc.
In the beginning, the lighthouses were constructed mainly of sandstone, but
later the building material was changed to brick and mortar. Lighthouses were
built on shore, on offshore reefs, or they were built securely in the bed of the
sea. Some lighthouses were built on the open sea. These were secured by bases
which were built underneath the water. These bases were either filled with sand
or concrete.
Fires
which were kept burning inside the lighthouses were fuelled by wood and coal in
the beginning. The wood and coal was replaced by whale oil later on. Finally, as
the years passed by, the lighthouse keepers switched to kerosene as a way to
keep the ever burning flame aglow. In 1994, with the advent of modern
technology, and the introduction of the satellite navigational system, the
towers which loomed over the seashore were upgraded to use solar powered
beacons. These newfangled beacons require little maintenance and they operate on
their own, without the need for human assistance. They operate most
efficiently.
Some of
the lighthouses in the United States are the Cape Hatteras which is located in
North Carolina, and the Hooper Strait lighthouse which is located in Maryland,
the Chicago Harbor which is located in the state of Illinois, the Sandy Hook in
New Jersey, the Old Point Loma in California, and the Buffalo Main lighthouse
which is located in New York. These are just a few of the lighthouses that were
built in the United States.
Rather
than face demolition, some of the country's lighthouses have been restored and
given a new reason for remaining in existence. One of the most popular
lighthouses is called the Alcatraz Island Lighthouse. It is located in San
Francisco, California. The lighthouse towered over another landmark on the
island, which is the Alcatraz Prison. The prison has long been defunct. It
gained its fame by once housing such notorious criminals such as Al Capone and
Machine Gun Kelly. The lighthouse is now a tourist attraction and is part of the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Another example of a
lighthouse reborn is the Old Mackinac Point Light which is located in Mackinaw
City, Michigan. This lighthouse was built in the year of 1892, over one hundred
years ago. It overlooked the Straits of Mackinaw which was located between Lake
Huron and Lake Michigan respectively. Sixty-five years later, in 1957, it was
decommissioned when the Mackinac Bridge was completed. The lights of the bridge
were so bright that it invalidated the need for a lighthouse. The lighthouse
still stands tall to this day, though, and is visited every year by tourists who
wish to see the museum.
Most lighthouses have now
been changed over to be used as museums, landmarks, and tourist attractions.
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