Since everyones so hot to trot on their top 10 favorite lighthouses, I thought I'd start another controversial subject here and ask which were the top 10 worst looking pieces? No rock throwing please, one may bounce off and hit one of my lighthouses. I will not start this one, but I will give you a hint that when I do list, one of them will be Coquille River! LOL

Caio
Brian

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Ugliest HLs?

CH1
Sandy Hook
North Head
Michigan City
Grosse Point
St. Joseph
Ida Lewis

Sorry, can't think of ten.
[This message has been edited by Art (edited 10-06-99).]

A point of clarification Brian. Do you want to know our opinion about the worst looking Harbour Light piece...or ugliest real thing. I would have to say that there are alot of real lighthouses that have fallen into neglect with potential to be stunning if they were spruced up a bit.

Doc John

No, I'm talking about the sculptures that Harbour Lights has made, some of which were in the earlier days of the company. You know the ones I'm talking about, we all have them, they are the ones that are still in the boxes in the basement, because we've put the nicest ones on display and have no more room, so we kind of phase these pieces out because we think they just don't quite look as nice as the rest. Come on people, every piece that Harbour lights put out was certainly not a masterpiece, there are some that took forever to retire, which I think says it all.

Caio
Brian

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Funny you should ask, Brian. I started this same thread last night but deleted it. I was listing the top 10 I would be least likely to display, and you know what? I couldn't come up with 10.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I feel it's a little unfair to compare early HLs to the newer models. Sure, I'm not a big fan of Umpqua River or Cape Blanco, but after viewing photos of those lights I would have to say I like them. I guess it's not the HL itself but the light they represent.

It will be interesting to see what the replies will be on this topic.

That's the word from the East Coast where the stars are out and it's only 35 degrees.

Bob

Brian, I kind of had the same opinion of some HLs when I first started collecting. The first 17 cannot compare to the newer ones. I have come to appreciate some of the originals, I guess it's an acquired taste.
Bob

All right, here they are (in no particular order):

CAPE BLANCO—--everything about it is ugly. Proportion, paint job, artistic direction, everything.

IDA LEWIS---Even though I personally like it because of its history, it's an architectural zilch.

WEST QUODDY--- How could you sculpt this one so badly, even by 1991 standards? The shape of the house doesn't even resemble the real thing. I'm not in favor of GLOWs by and large, but this is a must.

HUNTING ISLAND--- Considering how far standards had come in 1997, this one is lazy and dull. The paint scheme is particularly poor.

ST. JOSEPH'S PIER--- Filling in the spaces between the legs is sloppy. Even Cheryl Spencer Collins was able to release her version with individual legs. This has the markings of a rush job in order to get the stamp series out.

COQUILLE RIVER--- Forget about the secondary market value. This piece gives the color gray a bad name.

GROSSE POINT--- Ugh. Not even an ATTEMPT to make it realistic. They did the GLOW out of guilt. Okay, we forgive you.

BASS HARBOR--- For failing to capture the stunning perspective that the cliffs give it. Should have been more like Gay Head, using height to demonstrate its commanding presence over the ocean.

PEGGY'S COVE--- Those huge sea shells mess around with the formula. Keep it literal, please. Anchors and rain slickers and picnic tables and the occasional dog are fine. Please, no mutant sea shells.

PIGEON POINT--- Take Currituck's tower, paint it white and add a fence around it. Yawn.

But let me tell ya...ask me to come up with more than 10 and I'll be hard-pressed to do it.

[This message has been edited by Bill Harnsberger (edited 10-06-99).]

Bob expressed my opinion very well. I also felt that way about the earliest ones. Now I see them as beautiful in their own way: what they were when they were, the ancestors of the amazing product HL makes now.

Let's be thankful that Harbour Lights did start up their business and picked something as meaningful to our heritage as lighthouses for their product. Even if their first endeavors don't match the superb detail of today's models, it got me and all of you excited about lightouses; motivated us to collect lighthouses; made them enough money that they are where they are today -- turning out these gorgeous miniatures that we are all racing to the store to buy; created enough interest in general to cause this website to be established, which has also brought all of us together in friendship via this forum; but most importantly of all, has stimulated an awareness and interest in those fragile towers to the point that individually and through membership in restoration organizations, we are all trying to save lighthouses. Give HL a big pat on the back; don't make them feel badly about their first attempts, where they did the best they could then, with the technology within their use, back in the "old" days .

I think Harbour Lights is aware of two things:

1) Their early works are primitive and, probably, a little embarrassing. At the same time, it gives them all the more right to be proud of their new pieces and all the awards they won.

2) Their sides are hurting from laughing all the way to the bank whenever they encounter criticism, constructive or otherwise. That doesn't mean they don't listen to it or heed it, it just means that even their mediocre work has brought them considerable wealth. And more power to 'em.

So, c'mon gang...fire away.

I agree with what has already been said about the first 17 lighthouses. I didn't start out buying any of those but soon was in a mad search to have to find them to add to my collection. An example is Burrows Island, WA. It is not at all like the quality or interest in todays pieces, but it sure didn't stop me from paying a lot of money to have it. Of the newer releases, I guess my least favorite is Ida Lewis, RI because it doesn't look like a "typical" lighthouse. When I saw the real thing at the reunion, I could see there wasn't much to look at.

I will be glad to take any of the early pieces up to 1995 off of anyone's hands that would like to get rid of them at 50% off retail. LOL Especially those ugly Coquille's and Hatteras's. I'll take those ugly Southern Belles if they're in your way also.

Lighten up people, after all I'm not asking which of your children is the ugliest, just trying to find out which lighthouses are the least liked, and trying to inject a little humor in this topic as well. I am not a traitor or defector of harbour lights, I am probably one of their most loyal fans, but I do have eyes, and am just trying to find out what beauty is in other beholders eyes.

My least liked are:

1. Coquille River
2. Castle Hill
3. Cape Canaveral (It took me a month to figure out that the grey stuff was billows of smoke and not big rocks or gigantic mushrooms) Although the lighthouse itself is beautiful, but the rocket could have been ommitted!
4. North Head
5. Umpqua River
6. Ida Lewis Rock
7. St. Georges Reef
8. Cape Blanco
9. Michigan City
10.Sand Island

Remember, don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player and I didn't write the song.

Caio
Brian

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My list of ten that are least beautiful:
(By no way least favorite.)
1. Cape Blanco
2. Umpqua River
3. Yaquina Head
4. Ida Lewis Rock
5. Heceta Head
6. Beavertail (gray tower version)
7. St. Joseph
8. Spectacle Reef
9. Toledo Harbor
10. Boston Harbor



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My preference to buying HL's is to only buy the ones that "Jump-Out" and grab my attention. So all the pieces in my collection are "beautiful" to me. I also cannot judge the ones that I have not seen in person simply going by a picture in a book. I would have to say the only "Ugly" Harbour Light in my house is "ME"!!!

Well, I'm ready to wade in and let it hit the fan. After looking at both the LE's and the GLOWS, It is my opinion that the dullest are the Southern Bells. I think the GLOWS are much more attractive and have more scenery incorporated into the light than the originals. Of course it has nothing to do with the fact that I can't afford the LE's. ;>)
Tony

Does Harbour Lights have any ugly pieces? Maybe, maybe not. Like was said earlier, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Certainly, some of the original 17 are not real palatable to some. I for one proudly display them side by side with their "supermodel sisters". Sure, I bought most of them when I had nothing else to buy, but that was only because they were on the shelf for so long.

Anyway, here are my least popular Harbour Lights, but they IMHO aren't ugly, well maybe they are astheticly challenged:

Umpqua River
Grosse Point
North Head
Cape Blanco

-Todd

Brian, You said you didn't write the tune but you did blow the pitchpipe!! I would have to say that IMHO ugliest shouldn't be used, as they are all of interest in some way to most of us. Yes, some are much more attractive than others, but less attractive doesn't mean ugly. You did stir up a hornets nest didn't you?

foghornkeeper

Every lighthouse is unique...and although some may be less attractive than others, they may have sentimental value. To avoid provoking the wrath of the zealots , I will not use the terms "ugly" or "worse looking" but I will let you know which pieces occupy a position "in the back" of my curios . I display all of my pieces but put my favorites out in front or on the top shelf:

Chatham
Nobska
Round Island
St. Joseph Pier
Whaleback
Michigan City
Buffalo
Cape Blanco
Umpqua River
Ida lewis

Doc John

Michigan City. I went to Michigan City, when I was driving from Seattle to Baltimore, specifically to see the lighthouse, since when I was on the phone with home, I was told that HL made the Michigan City Lighthouse, why didn't I go there? So I did, and I saw this really cute lighthouse and I took a picture with my digital camera and went on my way. I called home and said, go buy it - I've seen it! When I sent the print of my picture home, the response I got was, what lighthouse is this? Why, Michigan City, I said. It sure doesn't look like the Harbour Lights one, was the reply. Turns out there are two there and I went to the wrong one. And the HL one is not that cute. And I like to buy HLs of the ones I've been to. And I haven't been to that one. So everytime I see the HL, I kick myself for not going a few more miles....

Dixie

Sean

I guess beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, because I'd probably put St. Augustine, Ponce, Tybee, Round Island (brown), and Hatteras in my top 20 pieces. This may be because I'm from the old school of collecting and bought all these pieces for retail, except for Hatteras.

Caio
Brian

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Okay, Brian, you KNEW this topic would get to me, because I have told you what these HL's have meant to me FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY I started collecting them--soon to be only one year:

NOT ONLY is it true for PEOPLE--[AND
FOR LIGHTHOUSES--and those of us who love them] that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and "is only skin deep" [thank you, "Temptations"!!]--BUT it is also VERY TRUE that it is what's INSIDE [also for people AND lighthouses!!]-that counts!! It's the MEMORIES of a special time or event; the MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE of what they represent [such as the countless lives they've saved]; and the ABILITY they have to allow us to take a ten-minute "vacation" from the stresses and struggles of everyday life--by simply
LOOKING at ANY ONE of them, closing our eyes--and suddenly, "being there", to hear the sounds of the seagulls and the crashing surf; to smell the invigorating, salty, sea air; to see the vast expanse of water. Don't we all remember--and still have--the "Hatteras" bookmarker we received from Harbour Lights??..."Nothing
inspires the imaginaton like a Lighthouse"!!

So, for me, my good friend, there is no such thing as an "ugly-looking" lighthouse!! Every single one of them is BEAUTIFUL in its own right: for what each one stands for; for the meaning and inspiration each one has for each of us who love them--just the way they are!!

And to my good and wise buddy, ORV, above--I'm with you!!--I'll GLADLY take all those Coquilles and Hatterases and Southern Belles from anyone who can't "bear" to look at them!!! ANY TIME!!!
[LOL!!]

For the most part, my collection consists of the NYS issues, with just a few others. I will say that even though I don't have most of the HL's to date that they have been done quite nicely---Except one !! The absolute worst one in my opinion was the first Boston Harbor GLOW.

"TheLightkeeper"

What a tough question.We all like each and every one for some reason right? Ok,now that is said..everyone turn around and look at your HL's.Beautiful aren't they?Ok,now..look closely and lets be honest..Grosse Point..Michigan City and Umpqua jump right out at me,even though they are tucked in the back.I also have to name that Admiralty Head as another..I know,first one made,so I will let that one slide..

Grossse Point LE would lead my list by far.I'll have to think about the others.

OK Larry, AKA Ilovehlts, I was not the person that coined the word ugliest piece in this topic, I believe that honor goes to Art, one of our illustrious Cruise Directors. I did however use these words, least liked and worst looking pieces.
You imply that I am knocking the memories that people may have or the historical significance of the genuine article, when in fact, I'm commenting on the sculpture itself!
If you new nothing about Harbour Lights and went to a yard sale and saw a Coquille River for $2.00, would you buy it? If I put 10 of your lighthouses on a table and said point to your favorite 5, would that then mean that the other 5 were the least liked? The point that I'm trying to make Larry, is that not all HLs are created equal. Forget the memories, lives saved and historcal significance, what do your eyes tell your brain about the looks of the sculpture? If you need glasses, I can recommend a good optometrist. Let the hornets fly on this one, cause the Orkin man is just a phone call away! If I have to be the Howard Stern of this forum to get peoples reactions, then so be it. Remember Larry, preference is the key word here, not ugly or hate. You of all people, know how I feel about my collection, you were there to cheer me on when I high bid on that Split Rock MI. To all..I've said my piece and rest my case. Thank You!

Caio
Brian

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[This message has been edited by whizkid3 (edited 10-09-99).]

If I did that, I wouldn't be at that yard sale looking at a Coquille for $2.00.

Quote below on 10/9/99

Quote below on 10/6/99

It surely seems the word ‘ugliest’ is used here, and, to a lot of collectors these pieces are like our children.


I wouldn't use Howard as your model. Howard has no taste and you obviously do because you collect Harbour Lights.

I choose to look at my collection of Harbour Lights and see the progression that Harbour Lights has made over the years. It is a work in progress. What you term "the worst looking" pieces, I probably would describe them as unrefined. Harbour Lights was attempting 17 lighthouses in that first year and ended up changing not only factories but also countries as well in the production of those 17. The point is, my Harbour Lights collection not only represents lighthouses and their history but also the history of a young (no pun intended) company attempting to produce lighthouses. When Harbour Lights learned something new along the way, they applied the improved technology to the new lighthouses coming out and didn’t just stand still.

Three of the prettiest lighthouses that I have displayed are North Head, Cape Blanco and Yaquina Head. They are at eye level in "the cabinet" as you enter my home. Interestingly, they are by far the dirtiest lighthouses in my collection as they have been handled a lot. All three are Artist Proofs and have the words Show Sample written on the bottom. They represent the early beginnings and struggles of Harbour Lights, a company that has matured in a relatively short time into one that produces lighthouses with the quality level of East Quoddy Lighthouse.

To sum up all of my ramblings I would definitely spend the $2.00 to buy the Coquille because I know the history of both the real lighthouse and the HL version and I wouldn’t be collecting if I didn’t.

SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

Paul

How dare you have the unmitigated gall and the audacity to infer that I have no feelings for other peoples memories, or that I have no appreciation for the countless lives saved or the historical significance of lighthouses! I am talking about a chunk of resin that has been formed into a sculpture that may or may not be pleasing to everyones eye. This to me sounds like another TV media ploy to twist the truth to suite their own needs and I also think that you have a case of the strange gods before you syndrome.
I am not a Howard Stern fan, nor do I subscribe to his views, but there is one thing that you cannot deny, and that is that the man has got ratings. In this forum, ratings are are the same as posts, and that my friend is what I have been after since I joined this forum. So, I will take my 43 points as a newbie, gather up all my lighthouses and bid this forum a fond farewell.

Au Revoir
Brian

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[This message has been edited by whizkid3 (edited 10-11-99).]

I suppose you'll not get this post, whizkid3, but Paul has made inumerable valuable contributions to this forum and to the HL collecting community at large. Paul's a class act.

I see *nothing* in his post that smacks of the claims you're thinking he's made. In fact I see he suggests you have good taste for collecting Harbour Lights. Don't know about you, but to me thats a compliment.

Stay away if you wish, but you're entitled to your opinion and we'll welcome you for it whether we agree with it or not. Its ok to disagree - the forums would be real boring if we all agreed. Just don't expect everyone to agree with you. And its ok to stir things up, but kinda chill on the ad hominems - speak to the message not the man. I don't mean to sound like I'm lecturing, but in my opinion, Paul's message seemed pretty harmless to me.

Why doncha stick around and enjoy the fun.

Rgds,
__
/im (making the ultimate sacrifice by giving up part of the PACKER game to write this message )

Brian,

I hate to see you leave the forums over something which to me looks like a simple difference of opinion. I for one am glad that we don't always agree here. That's what makes these forums a great place. Many differnt thoughts, opinions and theories on everything Harbour Lights. I hope that you will rethink your position.

As for how Paul became a Saint, well, there isn't enough room here to describe the lengths he goes to helping other collectors, Harbour Lights, and the forums here. As Tim stated earlier, Paul definately is a class act.

-Todd