The Milwaukee Breakwater lighthouse is located in the harbor of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It protects the entrance to the Milwaukee River.HistoryThis lighthouse, owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard, is an active aid to navigation. The steel tower has a square Balcony and "round cast iron lantern room features helical astragals" in the lantern. The two-story steel lighthouse keeper's quarters are in the art deco style. The structure rests on a 60by concrete pier, which rises more than above the lake's surface. The tower rests above the second floor and is tall overall. The red light has a focal plane of feet above Lake Michigan. The lantern and parapet are painted black.The structure is near the middle of the four-mile-long Milwaukee breakwater. It is built to withstand heavy weather and waves when Lake Michigan becomes roughest. The building is made of "steel plates over a steel skeletal frame, and is equipped with windows and portholes with glass a full half inch in thickness." The structure was originally painted red, but became white thereafter.In 1926, the original fourth order Fresnel lens was transferred from the Milwaukee Pierhead Light. The "helical barred lantern is also thought to have come from the pierhead light". The lens was removed in 1994, and is now an exhibit in Manitowoc at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum.
