Big Bay Point Lighthouse

Big Bay, Michigan, USA

Lake Superior

Big Bay Point on Lake Superior is protected by a large brick lighthouse that was built in 1896 and automated in 1941. It was abandoned in 1961 after a new steel tower light was built nearby.

The Big Bay Lighthouse, located 24 miles northwest of Marquette on County Road 550, is now a bed and breakfast inn. It caters to those seeking a nostalgic experience in majestic surroundings. The main building is 22 x 52 feet and contains 18 rooms. The round steel lantern room once housed a Third Order Fresnel lens, but now has an electrified plastic optic. Brick fog signal and oil storage buildings adjoin on the grounds.

The Big Bay lighthouse was built as a duplex, with the keeper living on one side and the assistant keeper on the other. The only way to cross from one side to the other was through the room at the base of the tower. Each keeper could enter it through a private door and then reach the tower and lens room.

The village of Big Bay was once frequented by Henry Ford, who owned and operated a factory in the village. The town was also the site of the movie "Anatomy of a Murder," which was filmed on location at the Big Bay Inn and surrounding points.

The Big Bay Light is on both the National and State Historic Registry. For more information, write to Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed-and-Breakfast, 3 Lighthouse Road, Big Bay, MI 49808 or call (906) 345-9957.

Big Bay Point Fresnel Lens

Big Bay Point once had a Third Order Fresnel lens. It was non-flashing as evidenced by the lack of bulls eyes. When installed in the light tower a series of opaque panels rotated around the exterior of the lens to cause it to "blink." An electric motor was installed by a previous owner to make the lens rotate, in spite of the fact that non-rotating a bulls eye lens accomplished nothing. Rotating it could well have caused the cracks evident in some of the prisms.

The original Big Bay Point Fresnel lens is now on display at the Marquette (MI) Maritime Museum.