Algoma lighthouse on barge to be moved to Sturgeon Bay, June 9, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
ALGOMA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The view looking out at Lake Michigan from Algoma is a bit different.
“For everybody in the city, it’s quite the iconic feature. It just sits east of the whole city of Algoma here,” said Algoma City Administrator Matt Murphy.
Murphy is talking about the red lighthouse on the Lake Michigan waterfront. What has sat in the same place in Algoma since 1932 is now taking a trip to Sturgeon Bay.
“There’s probably going to be a lot of people that are going to come into town, I assume in the next three or four months, and say, ‘Oh my God, where did your pierhead light go?'” said Murphy.
Thankfully, the lighthouse won’t be gone forever.
“It will get a facelift up in Sturgeon Bay, and when everything is ready for it, it will be floated back down south here to the city of Algoma and put right back into place where it sits today,” said Murphy.
That facelift includes a new paint job that will cost a little over $19,000. With the lighthouse gone, temporary markers will be in place to help guide boaters.
The lighthouse was moved so the Army Corps of Engineers and Roen Salvage Company can renovate the North Pier. Although that project will take two years, Murphy said the lighthouse could return as soon as the far end of the pier is finished.
Watching the lighthouse be lifted and taken away was a new experience for many.
“I have never seen anything like this before. I think it’s a pretty cool experience to see it. I was just in awe of the work that they put in to get it to that point and get it on the barge and get it over to Sturgeon Bay and paint it,” said Tanner Karman.
Karman, a police officer, was one of a few dozen people who came out Tuesday to watch the spectacle.
He joked, “4 p.m., I got a report that the lighthouse was going to be stolen, so I had to come and check it out, just to make sure that everything was legit and good.”
Although the lakeshore will look different for a while, when the lighthouse returns, locals say they’ll be ready to welcome it home.
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