Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse
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The 3rd Pointe-Au-Père Lighthouse was built in 1909 in the city of Pointe-au-Père, near Rimouski, Quebec, Canada. This city was well known in naval circles as the location of the pilot station for the Bas-Saint-Laurent (lower St. Lawrence) zone. Pointe-au-Père has since been amalgamated into the larger city of Rimouski (2002).
The first lighthouse on the site, a wooden octagonal tower, was built in 1859 to guide boats through the difficult St. Lawrence River at a cost of $1,453.61. The Government of Canada purchased the lighthouse in 1861. The first lighthouse burnt down in a fire 13 April, 1867, and was replaced by a newer lighthouse the same year.[1] The second lighthouse would remain as a residence and office on the site until being demolished in 1966.[2]
The third lighthouse is Template:Convert tall, which makes it the second tallest in Canada.[3] It is built in a characteristic shape, employing eight concrete buttresses to support a slender central cylinder. Ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to Parks Canada in 1977. Improvements for the sake of conservation were made in 1979.[1]
An automated skeleton tower was constructed nearby in 1975 and remained in operation until the station was closed in 1997.[1] The site is now open for visitors as part of the Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père. The RMS Empress of Ireland shipwrecking, which sunk off the coast of Pointe-au-Père in 1914, is documented in the adjacent Empress of Ireland museum. Visitors can also see the first submarine open to the public in Canada, Template:HMCS at the same location.[3]
The site was designated a National Historic Site in 1974,[4] and is considered a unit of the national park system. However, visitor services are provided by the non-profit Point-au-Père Maritime Historic Site.
Keepers
- David Lawson 1859-1876
- John McWilliams 1876-1893
- John McWilliams 1893-1911
- John Cahill 1912-1920
- Thomas Matthew Wyatt 1920-1936
- Charles Augustus Lavoie 1936-1964
- Roger St. Pierre Lavoie 1964-1972
- Armand Lafrance 1972-?
See also
References
External links
- Aids to Navigation Canadian Coast Guard
- Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père
Template:Portal bar Template:NHSC Template:Lighthouses of Canada
- Pages with script errors
- Lighthouses completed in 1909
- Lighthouses in Quebec
- Buildings and structures in Rimouski
- National Historic Sites in Quebec
- Lighthouse museums in Canada
- Tourist attractions in Bas-Saint-Laurent
- Lighthouses on the National Historic Sites of Canada register
- Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père
- 1909 establishments in Quebec