The Toronto Harbour Light is an automated

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

at Vicki Keith Point on the

Leslie Street Spit The Leslie Street Spit, or officially the Outer Harbour East Headland, is a human-made headland in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, extending from the city's east end in a roughly southwesterly direction into Lake Ontario. It is about long. The Spit is ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada.

Construction

The concrete structure was completed in 1974 by the

Toronto Harbour Commission The Toronto Harbour Commission (THC) was a joint federal-municipal government agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency managed Toronto Harbour as well as being responsible for major works along the Toronto waterfront. It built both ...

. It is now operated by the

Toronto Port Authority The Toronto Port Authority (TPA), doing business as PortsToronto (PT), is a port authority that is responsible for the management of the Port of Toronto, including the International Marine Passenger Terminal, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airpor ...

. The lighthouse is powered by a

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

and directs shipping traffic along the Eastern Channel into the Toronto Inner Harbour. The light replaced the outer and inner pier lights on the east side of the Eastern Gap from 1906. The larger tower was relocated to Monica Cruising Club in 1981 and smaller one to Etobicoke Yacht Club.https://www.lighthouse friends.com/light.asp?ID=1457 Maintenance on the property is limited and methods of power have varied over the years. A generator is on site, but is not used and is in disrepair. The site is fenced off yet prone to vandalism and graffiti. Various structures sit idle at the site, such as a ground-mounted solar panel in disrepair, a satellite dish, an unoccupied hut, and a separate hut containing a visibly arson-damaged diesel generator, along with control equipment.

* Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein. ''The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses'' (2002) ; . * Jones, Ray, & Roberts, Bruce (Photographer). ''Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses'' (Lighthouse Series) (Paperback) (Old Saybrook, CN: The Globe Pequot Press) . * Jones, Ray.''The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference'' (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ; . * Oleszewski, Wes. ''Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses'', (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) . *Penrose, Laurie & Penrose, Bill T., (1994-05) ''A Traveler's Guide to 100 Eastern Great Lakes: Lighthouses'' (Paperback), Friede Publications, 125 pages , p. 79. * Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. ''Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia'' Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006)

External links

The Toronto Harbour Light

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''Canadian Coast Guard'' Lighthouses completed in 1974 Buildings and structures in Toronto Lighthouses in Ontario 1974 establishments in Ontario {{Ontario-lighthouse-stub

Construction

See also

Further reading

External links