Fort Niagara

Stan & I just returned from a trip along the St. Lawrence Seaway, starting from the Eisenhower Lock in Massena, NY and ending at Presque Isle in Erie, PA. Took pics of 39 lights along the Seaway and stayed at 6 different campgrounds--LOVE that RV!!

Spent some time at Fort Niagara and chatted with one of their guides relative to where on the site the original light was located--atop the main building at the edge of the cliffs. He said that BY had been there twice in recent years taking pictures, etc. and the guide hoped HL would eventually replicate the original light. It would be a spectacular piece and would have to be at least as big as Navesink to do it justice. We took some great pictures and I'm hoping to eventually find out how to get them posted here. (Tried once and failed and haven't had time to follow-up with another try but I shall persevere as soon as work slows!)

You're making me very curious, Sandy. Why would a "remake" of the Fort Niagara Light have to be so large? The LE is a rather simple piece but nice as many of the older pieces are. Was Bill there taking photos to produce a GLOW of Fort Niagara, or is there some sort of special "remake" coming out in the future?

Bob

Bob, the original light was atop the fort that sits next to the current lighthouse. I think what Sandy is saying is that to reflect the light correctly you would need to include a part of the fort in the sculpture, thus the large size.

This page has a nice picture of the "French Castle", the original fort building, and the building the light was on top of.

I checked out your link, Dave, but didn't see any pics of the old light atop the castle. Are there any sketches or whatever of it?

Bob

Bob
I believe that the light was on a wooden tower that was built on the roof of the castle.

The current Fort Niagra LH is a project of the Eastern Great Lakes HL Collectors Club. Mike and Patti Kaiser co-Pres. and Jim Johnson VP.
Both Bill & Nancy have attended our meetings and yes there was talk about doing the original LH and Fort. I can see where this could lead to a large Navesink type production as the fort itself is quite large and rambling. I agree w/Bill & Judy that it would be an interesting and spectacular piece if it is ever done.
Rick

Bob,
The LE of Fort Niagara is of the lighthouse that is outside of the Fort Niagara walls. As others have noted, the one I'm referring to was the original light atop the large building on the grounds of the Fort. The LE sculpture is almost hidden now as the trees around it have grown to such heights that it could easily be missed. It was supposed to have become a museum and gift shop, but there was nothing to indicate that it was, in fact, used for that purpose when we were there last week.

Unrelated to Fort Niagara, we were able to get pictures of Ogdensburg LH during our trek along the Seaway. The owner was mowing his lawn and beckoned Stan over to get some better pics. During his conversation he mentioned that someone from a HL competitor (think eating utensil and add "tiques") had come onto his property and that of other private LH owners along the Seaway and taken pictures without their permission or knowledge. They had then used those pictures to sculpt their offerings and not given any credit to the owners. They (the owners) presently have a lawsuit pending. Pretty shoddy public relations on the part of the competitor. No trespassing means just that!

I remembered hearing the same thing, though when I went in April, I could have sworn I saw an orange and white "Closed" sign and some shelves inside. Maybe it was my imagination.

The Seaway area is great, isn't it? One of the best lighthousing areas. I saw all but two of the lights in the area in three days, though I did not get to Penn. Galloo Island and Sisters Island. I think I could have seen Sisters, too...the directions seemed a bit vague. Oh well...

Check your PM box, too.

Mike and Patty and I had some discussions with Bill about bringing out the original fort with the light on top of it as one of the Historical Building line, that Lighthouse Depot has been selling. We were unable to come up with a group of dealers to front the necessary expenses to get this started, but there were some folks at Y & A that showed some interest in the idea.