Lynx Images, How the Destruction Happened, Great Lakes, Georgian Bay, Ghosts of the Bay, Alone in the Night, Enchanted Summers, North Channel & St. Mary's River, Muskoka, Ontario, Lighthouses, Ghost Towns, Shipwrecks, Toronto, Mount Pleasant Cemetery
-from the film Alone in the Night
The destruction of the lighthouses and their auxiliary buildings has taken place largely within the last three decades, and is continuing. During the summer of 1995, the Canadian Coast Guard razed these buildings at Lonely Island, and also the old house at Great Duck Island, all of which were in good condition. |
-Flowerpot Island lighthouse, Alone in the Night note card In many cases, like at Lion’s Head, or Flowerpot Island, the nearby communities were not informed, only finding out after the fact that their lighthouses were gone. Even the destruction at Lonely Island and Great Duck Island came as a surprise to local communities. The cost of bringing a demolition crew to these sites on the Coast Guard boats is tremendous. Surely a more cost efficient solution would be to transfer over responsibility for the buildings to local groups interested in their preservation and in local heritage. |
-from film Alone in the Night
Built in 1912, Badgeley Island light was vital to ships navigating the North Channel. |
-from film Alone in the Night
Like most of the destroyed lighthouses, all that remains of Badgeley Island light is an abandoned foundation |
-Courtesy of Jim Wallace The Western Islands' light was one of Georgian Bay's most isolated lighthouses. |
-Courtesy of Jack Kennedy This explosion leveled the Western Islands’ house. It was the only way to bring it down, as it was built strong enough to take the full brunt of the sea (which it did regularly!). Note fire ladder in mid-flight. |
-from the film Alone in the Night
Attempting to reduce costs, the Coast Guard has installed low-maintenance metal skeleton towers adjacent to many of the lighthouses, rather than continuing to use the lighttowers. |
-courtesy Lynx Images
A derelict Hope Island Lighthouse |
Unfortunately, so that the beam from the new towers is not obstructed by the original lighttower, some of the old towers have been decapitated. Hope Island lighthouse, built in 1884, had its lanternroom removed for this reason. The lanternroom is rumoured to have been dropped into the lake by the helicopter that removed it. Weather and vandalism have damaged this building considerably. A team from the Huronia Museum finally sealed off the roof in 1995, and the lighthouse now waits to find out its fate.
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