Dunkirk Lighthouse

The Dunkirk Lighthouse, also known as the Point Gratiot Light, is an active lighthouse located at Point Gratiot on Lake Erie in New York state. The lighthouse was established in 1826 and the current tower was first lit in 1875. The lighthouse was automated in 1960 and is still operational. The foundation is made out of dressed stone and the lighthouse is made out of rubblestone encased in brick. The tower is square-shaped with the upper two thirds in white and the lower third left natural and the lantern housing in red. The original lens is a third order Fresnel lens installed in 1857 in the original 1826 light and is still in operation. Its being still in use makes it a rarity. Only 70 such lenses are operational in the United States, 16 being on the Great Lakes of which two are in New York. At the entrance to the park property is the South Buffalo North Side Light, formerly located in Buffalo Harbor. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Point Gratiot Lighthouse Complex in 1979.