Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse, Federal heritage lighthouse in Pointe-au-Père, Rimouski, Canada
Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse is a 33-metre reinforced-concrete tower designed by French engineer Henri de Miffonis, with eight buttresses supporting a slender central cylinder. It stands on the site of two earlier lighthouses and is the main building of the Pointe-au-Père navigational aid station. Visitors can climb to the top of the tower.
The first wooden octagonal lighthouse was built here in 1859 at a cost of $1,453.61 and bought by the Canadian government in 1861. It burned down on 13 April 1867 and was replaced the same year by a second lighthouse, which served as residence and office until its demolition in 1966. The 1909 tower, designed by French engineer Henri de Miffonis, was the third on the site; seven keepers worked it until 1975, when an automated tower took over.
The site's keepers lived and worked here for 66 years, from David Lawson in 1859 to Armand Lafrance from 1972, often putting in twelve-hour days. Since 1982 the lighthouse has housed an interpretation centre run with the Musée de la mer, a Rimouski cultural organisation, and the pilot boat Eureka and the 1907 Marconi wireless station made Pointe-au-Père a hub of St. Lawrence navigation.
The lighthouse stands within the Pointe-au-Père Maritime Historic Site, where the adjacent Empress of Ireland museum and the submarine HMCS Onondaga are visited on the same ticket circuit. Climbing to the top of the 33-metre tower is done on foot, so plan the ascent for dry weather. The site lies in Rimouski, on the lower St. Lawrence; visitor services are run by the non-profit maritime historic site rather than by Parks Canada.
The lighthouse is 33 m tall, making it the second tallest in Canada, and its eight concrete buttresses were designed by French engineer Henri de Miffonis. Seven keepers served the station over 66 years, often working twelve-hour days; the last, Armand Lafrance, took over in 1972.
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