The Old Michigan City Lighthouse

We made a brief stop in Michigan City.

 I didn't feel like going into Washington Park but I wanted to show my dad the old Michigan City Lighthouse.  Fortunately, you can see it for free.

And the light was somewhat cooperative.

And We End Up in Michigan City

After finishing up in St. Joseph, I saw that I still had a little time.  I headed down to Michigan City.

 It seemed like the winds were starting to die down a bit but I was getting pelted by the sand from the beach.  If you look closely, you can see the Chicago skyline.

 Well, they weren't dying down enough.

 So I got some nice pictures of the waves hitting the channel marker.

 Again, I thought I would have an opportunity to walk on the pier.  That was until I saw the water washing over it.

 The lighthouse itself getting slammed.

 I kind of liked the partially clouded skies.

 The Indiana dunes.  One of these days, I'm going to have to go here.

One more shot before ending a pretty awesome photo day.

An Even Briefer Stop at the Michigan Lighthouse

Since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to head over to Michigan City.

 I didn't make it to the new lighthouse but the old one is cooler anyway.  Besides, the new lighthouse is almost an exact replica of the St. Joseph Light.

And a shot of their Civil War Monument.

Wandering to Michigan City

Yesterday I decided to go lighthouse hunting.  It was supposed to get up into the upper 30's which would make for a good day photographing.  Since it's been below freezing the past week or so, I figured that I would get some shots of ice on the lighthouses.

 This time I decided to take a different tack and I started with Michigan City.  Normally I will start my day in Grand Haven and work my way south.  This generally means that I get to Michigan City around the time it is getting dark.  I started with the Old Michigan City Lighthouse.  I've gotten a few pictures of this one as the train has a pretty decent view. 

 This light was originally built in 1858 to replace a previous light that was here.  It was remodeled in 1904 and I believe served as the house for the keepers.

 It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  Currently it serves as a museum.

 The Naval Armory was built in 1932.  It was built by the Indiana Naval Militia which was formed in 1927.  Currently it serves as a National Guard Armory.

 It definitely shows it's origin in the 1930's.

 A shot of the River.

 This is one of several memorials to the soldiers that fought in the Civil War.  It is  pretty neat monument.

 I like the reliefs at the base of the statue.

 Soldiers marching off to war.

 These almost look like they are returning.

 Another angle of the monument.

 The Michigan City East Pierhead Lighthouse was built in 1904 and replaces the Old Michigan City Lighthouse.

 It looks very similar to the St. Joseph Lighthouse.

 It was automated in 1960.

 In 2007, the US Coast Guard deemed it redundant and gave it to the city.  It is being preserved as one of 12 lighthouses in Indiana.

 I decided to venture out on the pier but this was as far as I was going to get.  It looked pretty treacherous from here.

 But there were people past this point.

 I kind of like the degree of ice and snow on it.

 I didn't really get a picture of it, but it looked like there were iceballs in the water.

One more shot from the beach.

Michigan City East Light

The light was waning but I needed to get pictures of this lighthouse as well.

 As I said in the last post, the Michigan City East Light was built in 1904 after some expansion to the harbor in Michigan City.

 It was decided that it would be a pier light to show where the channel opened.  This particular light is unique in that the catwalk is still pretty much intact.

 It pretty much reminds me of the St. Joseph Lighthouse but I suspect that is because there is some degree of standardization amongst lighthouses and these are pretty close together.

 I guess this lighthouse was up for deactivation in 2007 and the city was going to try to claim it.  Not sure how that is going.

 A shot of the Indiana Dunes.  One of these days, I'm going to have to head over there.

 A shot as I was walking out on the pier.  I almost ended up not doing this because it was so windy yesterday.  I had sand blowing on my face.

 But I'm glad I did, because I got some nice pictures, I think.

 About as close as I was going to get.

A closeup shot of the tower.

 It looks like they added a solar panel.

 I was trying to frame it with the catwalk.

 As I was heading back to the car.

 An almost straight shot of the catwalk.

 As I was heading into the car, I noticed that they turned the lights of the catwalk on.  I figured I needed a picture of that.
 

Random Things Around the Michigan City Lighthouse

I wandered around the area a little bit because there are some pretty nice picture opportunities around here.

 First of them was the tug Julie Dee.  I think she was from Grand Haven.  Or at least that's what it said on her stern.

 I kind of wish I would see more tugs like this because I think these are pretty neat tugs.

 A shot of her bow.

 Looking forward.

 A shot of the Police and Firefighters Statue.  I've seen this before and I thought it was pretty neat then and I still think it is pretty neat.  It is dedicated to the police officers and fire fighters that have lost their lives in the line of duty.

 The Naval Armor was constructed in 1932.  It almost looks like a Works Progress Building but it is definately Art Deco.  It currently serves as the National Guard Armor.

 I decided to head across the river to get better shots of the boat.

 A full side shot of her.

 A better shot of the Armory.  I'll have to admit this is a pretty neat looking building.

 At the entrance of Washington Park in Michigan City stands this statue. It was sculpted by William O'Donovan and Jonathan Hartley. It was donated to the city from New York in 1893 by John H. Winterbotham who was a local businessman. It is to the sailors and soldiers who died in the Civil War.

 Some of the details of the statue.  I think this is depicting the men going off to war.

 Looking up at the statue.

 Shot from the other side.

One more shot of it.  I'll have to admit, this is a pretty neat looking statue.