Buffalo Main Lighthouse

Year Built

1833

Cost

$2,500

Type

Octagonal

Height

60 feet

Location

Buffalo River, Buffalo

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1833

Lens Type

Third order Fresnel 1857

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1914

Color

Natural stone

Last Keeper - Date

John Safe (1905 – 1914)

Description

The lighthouse and grounds are open to the public.

Brief History

•  In 1856, the Buffalo Lighthouse finally received its third-order Fresnel lens, however, the tower would have to be reworked prior to its installation.
•  The 1868 construction of a breakwater 2,500 feet out into the harbor fated Buffalo Main Lighthouse to eventual obsolescence, but it was yet to receive a few improvements.
•  In 1902, the Lighthouse Board voted to change the tower’s characteristic from a fixed glow to white flashes to help it stand out from the electrified city lights of the Buffalo skyline.
•  In the 1950s, the Army Corps of Engineers planned to demolish Buffalo Main Lighthouse as part of a river widening project, but public outcry saved the beacon and led to its restoration in 1962.
•  In April 2011, Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation approved a grant of $170,700 to repair and restore the lighthouse in anticipation of public tours.