{"nrhp_refnum":"90000473","name":"South Bass Island Light","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Langram Rd., on SW point of South Bass Island","address_restricted":false,"city":"South Bass Island","county":"Ottawa County","state":"OH","lat":41.62949217500005,"lon":-82.84143950099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-04-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Queen Anne-style light station on Parker's Point at the southwest tip of South Bass Island in western Lake Erie, Ottawa County, Ohio. It has a brick light tower with attached keeper's dwelling (1897), a barn and chicken house (1899), and an iron oil house (1899).","why_significant":"The light marked the southwest tip of South Bass Island from 1897 until 1963 and guided vessels through the South Passage around the Lake Erie Islands. It was built when the island was at its height as a summer resort. The nomination finds it significant under Criterion A for transportation, and an amendment added Criterion C for engineering. It retains enough integrity to convey an island light station of the turn of the century.","narrative":"Perched on Parker's Point at the southwest tip of South Bass Island in Lake Erie, this light station operated from 1897 to 1963. Its red brick tower, 45 feet tall, is joined to a two-story keeper's dwelling in the Queen Anne style, laid in Flemish bond with a cut stone water table. The lantern, gallery and stairway reportedly came from the Gibraltar, Michigan, light. A former barn and chicken house, now a garage, and a small riveted iron oil house, both dating from 1899, complete the group. The light first showed a fixed red signal, changed in 1926 to alternating white and red flashes, and guided vessels through the South Passage among the Lake Erie Islands. It was built as the island flourished as a summer resort. After an automated light on a steel tower replaced it, the property passed in 1967 to Ohio State University, which uses the dwelling as faculty housing. Despite remodeling, the complex keeps the feeling of a turn-of-the-century island light station.","period_of_significance":"1897","architect_builder":"Lt. Col. Jared A. Smith, Corps of Engineers","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Removed from service in 1963 and replaced by an automated light on a steel skeleton tower; transferred in 1967 to Ohio State University, which uses the dwelling as faculty residence. The lighthouse and barn have been remodeled.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.03064-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/90000473.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000473/218d456c3d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000473/218d456c3d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"United States Coast Guard","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_bass_island_light.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">United States Coast Guard</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_bass_island_light.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985990","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Bass_Island_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q429869"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/ottawa-county/south-bass-island-light-90000473/"}