Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Port Clinton Lighthouse

The Port Clinton Lighthouse has been a favorite subject of postcards over the years. The top one was postmarked 1910; the bottom one 1944.

Here's another one. It's the same composition as the one from the 1940s, but is printed differently (or isn't as beat up).

The lighthouse dates back to 1896, when it was originally located on the city's West Pier on the Portage River. It was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1952 and moved to a new home at Brands Marina, as seen on this postcard.

But happily, the Port Clinton Lighthouse was lovingly restored and moved to Waterworks Park in 2014. Here are a few of my photos from this past Saturday.
The sign in front provides a nice capsule history. (The Port Clinton Lighthouse website has a comprehensive history here.)

Here's a view from the other side.

And nearby is this terrific sculpture of a lightkeeper and his dog.
It's kind of funny that I had no idea that Port Clinton had done so many wonderful things on its lakefront – ten years ago! It's always nice to see things getting better in any city that you haven't visited in a while.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dan - home for a visit and went to Put-in-Bay yesterday. Great history on the island spent time at the original lighthouse near the Miller ferry dock. Enjoyed my perch lunch at the downtown Boardwalk restaurant. Todd

Buster said...

Thanks, Dan - I like Port Clinton. We visit there periodically because my sister-in-law has a place on the lake.

I think the difference in those postcards is the difference in aging characteristics as well as handling. The cards were printed on stock that yellows. If you remove the color cast in Photoshop, the colors are much more like they were when the card was printed.

Dan Brady said...

A meal at the Boardwalk sounds pretty good now, Todd! We're so lucky to live in or near Vacationland, it's like a trip to New England.

And I agree Buster, the two postcards probably started out identical! Maybe the one was used as a bookmark and was preserved.