Milwaukee Pierhead Light stands at the harbor entrance where the Milwaukee River meets Lake Michigan, serving as an active aid to navigation and a distinctive part of the city’s lakefront. Established in 1872, it originally had its own keepers until 1926, after which it was maintained with other harbor lights from the nearby North Point Light Station until automation. The round steel tower has a circular gallery and a ten-sided lantern, and its Fresnel lenses changed over time, with earlier lenses later displayed at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012, it links Milwaukee’s modern shoreline to its long shipping history.