{{short description|Lighthouse in Michigan, United States}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox lighthouse | image_name = Graysreef.jpg | location = In northeastern Lake Michigan, {{convert|3.8|mi}} west of Waugoshance Island | coordinates = {{coord|45|46|0|N|85|9|12|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | yearlit = 1936<ref name = "inv">{{cite web | title = Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Michigan Lighthouses: Gray's Reef Light | publisher = National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program | url = http://www.nps.gov/maritime/light/grayreef.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110426003025/http://www.nps.gov/maritime/light/grayreef.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 26, 2011 | access-date = April 10, 2012}}</ref> | automated = 1976<ref name = "inv"/> | foundation = Submerged stone and concrete crib<ref name = "inv"/> | construction = Steel, reinforced concrete<ref name = "inv"/> | shape = Octagonal<ref name = "inv"/> | marking = White with black lantern<ref name = "inv"/> | height = {{convert|65|ft}}<ref name = "inv"/> | lens = Third and a half order Fresnel lens<ref name = "inv"/> (original), {{convert|190|mm|order=flip|adj=on}}<ref name = "inv"/> (current) | range = {{convert|15|nmi}}.<ref name = "pepper2"/> | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Grays Reef Light Station | location = In northeastern Lake Michigan, {{convert|3.8|mi}} west of Waugoshance Island | nearest_city = Bliss Township, Michigan | builder = Greiling Brothers Company | architect = U.S. Lighthouse Service 11th Dist.; Office of Supt. of Lighthouses | architecture = Art Deco | added = November 9, 2005 | area = {{convert|0.6|acre}} | mpsub = Light Stations of the United States MPS | refnum = 05001210<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> }} }}
The '''Grays Reef Light''' is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, {{convert|3.8|mi}} west of Waugoshance Island in Bliss Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.<ref name = "nris"/>
==History== In the 1880s, as shipments of iron ore increased through the Straits of Mackinac, shippers began advocating for better lighting of the shoals in the area.<ref name = "pepper2">{{cite web | title = Grays Reef Light | publisher = Seeing The Light | url = http://terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/grays_reef/grays_reef.htm | access-date = April 10, 2012}}</ref> In 1889, Congress appropriated $60,000 to construct three lightvessels to be moored at Simmons Reef, White Shoals, and here at Grays Reef.<ref name = "pepper2"/> The three vessels, designated LV55, LV56, and LV57, were constructed by Blythe Craig Shipbuilding of Toledo, Ohio, and were put in service in late 1891. LV57 served for every shipping season on Grays Reef until 1923, when its hull had deteriorated to a point where it was removed from service. LV103 (the Lightship ''Huron'') served on Grays reef from 1923–27, when LV56 was transferred to the station. LV56 lasted only two years until it, too deteriorated enough to be removed from service. LV103 was returned to Grays Reef for the first part of the 1929 season, and was then replaced with LV99.<ref name = "pepper2"/>
By this time, with improvements in underwater construction, it had become feasible to construct a permanent light station on Grays Reef, rather than depending on a moored lightvessel.<ref name = "pepper2"/> In 1934, Congress approved funding for a new station. The Greiling Brothers Company was hired to construct the light station, and work began in the summer of 1934. The structure was finished in September 1936, two months behind schedule and over budget.<ref name = "pepper2"/>
In 1937, a radio beacon and {{convert|40|ft}} tower was installed at the station; the tower was removed in 2010.<ref name = "nerd">{{citation | title = Grays Reef Light | author = Dave Wobser | publisher = Lighthouse.Boatnerd.com | url = http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/michigan/graysreef.htm | access-date = April 10, 2012 | archive-date = May 5, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120505130518/http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/graysreef.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1939, the United States Coast Guard took over operational control.<ref name = "pepper2"/> The lighthouse was staffed until 1976, when a solar-powered system was installed. The lighthouse now has a {{convert|190|mm|order=flip|adj=on}} 12-volt DC acrylic Tideland Signal optic.<ref name = "pepper2"/>
==Description== The Grays Reef Light is built to exactly the same plan as the Minneapolis Shoal Light, built at approximately the same time.<ref name = "pepper2"/> The design is a modification of one created by F. P. Dillon and W. G. Will, which was used in Conneaut, Ohio and Huron, Ohio.<ref name = "pepper2"/>
The light sits on a square reinforced concrete pier, {{convert|30|ft}} high and {{convert|64|ft}} on a side.<ref name = "northern">{{citation | title = The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes | author1 = Charles K. Hyde | author2 = Ann Mahan | author3 = John Mahan | publisher = Wayne State University Press | year = 1986 | isbn = 0814325548 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aEvP0VJaedoC&q=Grays+Reef+Light&pg=PA107| pages = 106–107}}</ref> Atop the pier is a two-story base, {{convert|15|ft|adj=on}} high and {{convert|30|ft}} on a side.<ref name = "northern"/> The cellar and first floor in the base were built to house diesel generators, boilers, and compressors to provide power and heat to the light, fog signal, and keeper's quarters.<ref name = "pepper2"/> The second floor of the base housed the keeper's quarters. The lighthouse tower is placed in the center of the building roof. The tower is {{convert|65|ft}} tall, and tapers from {{convert|16|ft}} at the base to {{convert|10|ft}} beneath the gallery. The entire light is covered on the exterior with steel plates.<ref name = "northern"/> The lantern atop the tower has helical astragals, and housed a red 3-1/2 order Fresnel lens.<ref name = "pepper2"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{ARLHS link}}
{{Lighthouses of Michigan}} {{National Register of Historic Places listings in Emmet County, Michigan}}
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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1936 Category:Houses completed in 1936 Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Category:Art Deco architecture in Michigan Category:National Register of Historic Places in Emmet County, Michigan Category:1936 establishments in Michigan Category:Transportation in Emmet County, Michigan Category:Lighthouses of Lake Michigan