World Art Utopia

St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights

The St. Joseph North Pier outer lighthouse and its elevated catwalk hung with long icicles on frozen Lake Michigan.
Artwork FileSt. Joseph, USA

St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights

Seen2016

North Pier, St. Joseph, Michigan, USA · 1907

Photo: Rachel Kramer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as published on Street Art Utopia.

St. Joseph’s North Pier carries a pair of range lights built in 1907, with a steel catwalk that keepers used to reach them during high waves or icy conditions. The same weather hangs it with icicles. Source Source Source Checked

Seen 2016: the city finished restoring both lights in 2016, and its undated page describes them as still active aids to navigation. We found no newer dated photograph. Source Source Checked

💡 4 things to know

  1. A two-light rangeBoats line up the inner and outer lights to steer into St. Joseph harbor. Source Checked
  2. Both lights date from 1907Heritage records date the present pair of lights to 1907. Source Source Checked
  3. The catwalk had a winter jobKeepers used the steel catwalk to reach the lights during high waves or icy conditions. Source Checked
  4. Restored by the citySt. Joseph took over the lights in 2013 and restored them to their circa-1932 configuration. Source Source Checked

📍 Where it is

North Pier, reached through Tiscornia Beach, St. Joseph, Michigan. Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 1907

    Present range lights built · Chance Historic Trust

  2. 20137 Oct

    Ceremony marked the transfer to the City of St. Joseph · Chance Historic Trust

  3. 201410 Jan

    Outer light and catwalk photographed coated in ice · Rachel Kramer / Wikimedia Commons

  4. 2016

    City restoration completed · Chance Historic Trust

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Place
North Pier, St. Joseph, Michigan, USA Source Source Checked
Lights
Inner and outer range lights Source Source Checked
Catwalk
Steel walkway keepers used to reach the lights Source Checked
Owner
City of St. Joseph, since 2013 Source Source Checked
Restored
Completed 2016 Source Checked
Beacons
Active aids to navigation, run by the U.S. Coast Guard Source Checked
Status today
Restored and standing in 2016 Source Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 2 November 2026. How we verify art