I was a bit confused when I first looked at pictures of the Cape Spear lighthouse, because it appeared that there were two different Cape Spear lighthouses. I wasn't sure if that was the case or not until further investigation. The further investigation revealed that there are two Cape Spear lighthouses, the old restored one and the new operational one.
In the case of either one, they are located on a spot that is picturesque, historic, and geographically noteworthy. Cape Spear is the easternmost point of North America. So the old Cape Spear Lighthouse is a Canadian National Historic Site.
Cape Spear (new)
"Just a couple of years after Newfoundland became the newest Canadian province in 1949, two new dwellings were built for the keepers followed in 1955 by a new concrete, octagonal tower that stands 13.7 metres tall. The Fresnel lens was transferred from the 1835 lighthouse to the new tower, where today it still produces a light with a signature of three white flashes every fifteen seconds."
Cape Spear (old)
" In 1834, the newly formed representative government under Governor Thomas Cochrane passed “An Act for the Establishment of Lighthouses,” which among many things appointed five persons to serve as Commissioners of Lighthouses and authorized £1000 to be raised by loan for a lighthouse at Cape Spear. Governor Cochrane, accompanied by the Commissioners, the Commanding Royal Engineer, and the Surveyor General, visited Cape Spear in 1834 and selected a site for the lighthouse near the edge of a vertical seventy-three-metre sandstone cliff. "
Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada
Below are four pictures of the Cape Spear lighthouses, two of the old (the building with the dome on top) and the new (the white tower).
Serge Chriqui also has a couple of great pictures of the Cape Spear lighthouses in his Recent Additions: Newfoundland section.
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| New tower |
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| New tower |
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| Historic lighthouse |
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| Historic lighthouse |
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