Don Terras, seen through the Fresnel lens in the Grosse Point Lighthouse. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.

Grosse Point Lighthouse, located at the southern end of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois, was established in 1873 as the primary lighthouse marking the approach to Chicago. The lighthouse tower stands 113 feet tall and is constructed of Cream City brick encased in concrete. Still in use in the lantern is the original second-order Fresnel lens, manufactured by the Henry-Lepaute Company of Paris. In 1935, after the station was automated and destaffed, the federal government turned over the property, except for the lighthouse tower and light, to the City of Evanston.

Grosse Point Lighthouse and keeper's house. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.

Donald J. Terras is the director of the Lighthouse Park District in Evanston, and he manages the Grosse Point Light Station Museum. He is also the author of the books Grosse Point Lighthouse: Landmark to Maritime History and Culture and Lighthouses of Chicago Harbor: Their History, Architecture and Lore. Mr. Terras served on the steering committee to establish a National Lighthouse Museum and is a past president of the American Lighthouse Council. He is also a recipient of the American Lighthouse Council’s F. Ross Holland Distinguished Service Award.

In this interview, Don Terras looks back on nearly four decades of work at Grosse Point Light Station and in the broader world of lighthouse preservation.

A U.S. Lighthouse Society meeting in the keeper's quarters at Grosse Point Light Station on November 8, 2019. Left to right: Jeff Gales, Tom Tag, Don Terras, Chad Kaiser, and Gary Riemenschneider. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.