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Light houses have enjoyed an almost three hundred year era of guiding ships safely along their seafaring voyages. Every lighthouse had a keeper whose responsiblity it was to keep the fiery light of the beacon burning bright. The houses were built along shipping lanes as well as other heavily-traveled areas of the oceans and the seas. Their sole purpose was to assist the captains and the crewman of passing ships to aid them in figuring out their locations. The lighthouses also helped to warn the ships' crews of impending dangers such as coral reefs, etc.
In the beginning, the lighthouses were constructed mainly of sandstone, but later the building material was changed to brick and mortar. Lighthouses were built on shore, on offshore reefs, or they were built securely in the bed of the sea. Some lighthouses were built on the open sea. These were secured by bases which were built underneath the water. These bases were either filled with sand or concrete.
Fires which were kept burning inside the lighthouses were fuelled by wood and coal in the beginning. The wood and coal was replaced by whale oil later on. Finally, as the years passed by, the lighthouse keepers switched to kerosene as a way to keep the everburning flame aglow. In 1994, with the advent of modern technology, and the introduction of the satellite navigational system, the towers which loomed over the seashore were upgraded to use solar powered beacons. These newfangled beacons require little maintenance and they operate on their own, without the need for human assistance. They operate most efficiently.
Some of the lighthouses in the United States are the Cape Hatteras which is located in North Carolina, and the Hooper Strait lighthouse which is located in Maryland, the Chicago Harbor which is located in the state of Illinois, the Sandy Hook in New Jersey, the Old Point Loma in Califoria, and the Buffalo Main lighthouse which is located in New York. These are just a few of the lighthouses that were built in the United States.
Rather than face demolition, some of the country's lighthouses have been restored and given a new reason for remaining in existence. One of the most popular lighthouses is called the Alcatraz Island Lighthouse. It is located in San Francisco, California. The lighthouse towerered over another landmark on the island, which is the Alcatraz Prison. The prison has long been defunct. It gained its fame by once housing such notorious criminals such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. The lighthouse is now a tourist attraction and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Another example of a lighthouse reborn is the Old Mackinac Point Light which is located in Mackinaw City, Michigan. This lighthouse was built in the year of 1892, over one hundred years ago. It overlooked the Straits of Mackinaw which was located between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan respectively. Sixty-five years later, in 1957, it was decommissioned when the Mackinac Bridge was completed. The lights of the bridge were so bright that it invalidated the need for a lighthouse. The lighthouse still stands tall to this day, though, and is visited every year by tourists who wish to see the museum.
Most lighthouses have now been changed over to be used as museums, landmarks, and tourist attractions.
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