WayfarrowMilwaukee Breakwater Light
Lighthouse · Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Breakwater Light is a lighthouse in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin has 54 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 3 of them in Milwaukee County.
It was built in 1926, in the interwar years, making it the 28th oldest of the 36 in Wisconsin with a recorded construction date; the tower stands about 53 feet tall (11th tallest of 26 measured in Wisconsin); its light sits 66 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl R 10s (a red flash every 10 seconds), with a range of about 14 nautical miles; it guards Lake Michigan; the structure is built of metal.
Status check, 2026-11: An Art Deco steel lighthouse on a concrete pier, automated in 1966. You can only reach it by boat, and the tower is closed to the public. Milwaukee Breakwater Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is not reachable by road: the nearest road is about 1 mile away, so it is seen from shore or reached by water. It stands at 43.0270° N, 87.8820° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Tower height | 53 ft |
| Focal height | 66 ft |
| Light characteristic | Fl R 10s |
| Range | 14 nautical miles |
| Body of water | Lake Michigan |
| Material | metal |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 43.02700, -87.88200 |
Nearby places
- Milwaukee Pierhead Lightlighthouse · Milwaukee County · 0.7 mi
- North Point Lightlighthouse · Milwaukee County · 2.7 mi
- Root Creekghost town · Milwaukee County · 7.1 mi
- Brookfield Centerghost town · Waukesha County · 13.7 mi
- Raymond Centerghost town · Racine County · 17 mi
- Wind Point Lightlighthouse · Racine County · 18.1 mi
- Denoonghost town · Waukesha County · 19 mi
- Penny's Bridgecovered bridge · Waukesha County · 19.6 mi
- Kevich Lightlighthouse · Ozaukee County · 20.5 mi
- Racine Harbor Lighthouse and Life Saving Stationlighthouse · Racine County · 20.9 mi
- Racine North Breakwater Lightlighthouse · Racine County · 21 mi
- Dodges Cornersghost town · Waukesha County · 21.6 mi
Questions
Where is Milwaukee Breakwater Light?
Milwaukee Breakwater Light is in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, at 43.0270, -87.8820.
How many lighthouses are in Milwaukee County?
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin has 3 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.