7 Foot Knoll Lighthouse

The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, a bright red, 42-foot-high classic screwpile structure, is the oldest surviving lighthouse of its kind. Built in 1856, it originally marked the entrance to Baltimore Harbor at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Though designed to hold a third-order Fresnel lens, it was instead fitted with a smaller fourth-order lens. Its innovative design eliminated the need for underwater concrete foundations, relying instead on nine cast iron beams mounted on screwpiles secured to the bay floor. From 1856 to 1919, the lighthouse was occupied by keepers and their families. Between 1920 and 1949, keepers worked in pairs, alternating shore leave. The light was automated in 1949, and after 133 years of service, it was deactivated by the Coast Guard, replaced by an electric beacon. In 1989, the lighthouse was relocated to Pier 5 in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor District and donated to the City of Baltimore. By 1997, it became part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum and was opened to the public, preserving its legacy as a vital piece of Maryland’s maritime history. 

Pier 1-East Pratt Street Inner Harbor, MD (410) 539-1797