 Wawatam Lighthouse in 2010 | |
 | |
| Location | St. Ignace, Mackinac County, US |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°52′N 84°43′W / 45.87°N 84.72°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1998  |
| Height | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Shape | hexagon |
| Markings | white (tower), red (trim) |
| Light | |
| First lit | 2006 |
| Focal height | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Lens | Fresnel lens |
| Range | 13 mi (21 km) |
| Characteristic |  Fl W 5s |
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Wawatam Lighthouse is an automated, modern lighthouse that guards the harbor of St. Ignace, Michigan, in the Straits of Mackinac.[1][A][2] Originally completely nonfunctional, it was erected in 1998 by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) near Monroe, Michigan as an iconic roadside attraction at a welcome center that greeted northbound drivers on Interstate 75 (I-75). After serving in this capacity for six years, the structure was threatened in 2004 when MDOT decided to rebuild the welcome center and demolish the tower.[2][3]
Demolition was averted when the St. Ignace civic leaders for the Straits of Mackinac municipality, which had never had a light tower, heard of the opportunity and asked that the welded steel tower be given to them, this time for use in real life. Over a two-year period, the redundant structure was cut apart, trucked to St. Ignace, and re-erected, this time as a functional aid to navigation with a working light. The "new" lighthouse was re-lighted in St. Ignace in August 2006. As of 2023, it is one of the final working light towers to be erected in the waters of the United States.[2][3]
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- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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