Click panorama to view larger

Built to protect ships from the Dog Bar Reef, the Dog Bar breakwater was built on top of the ledge. The half mile long breakwater is seven and a half feet above mean high water and ten feet wide, constructed of 231,756 tons of Cape Ann granite over a substructure of rubble. Built by the Army Corps of Engineers between 1894 and 1905 at a cost of only $300,000.00, I wonder what it would cost to build a granite breakwater such as Gloucester’s in today’s economy?

For more interesting history about the Dog Bar Breakwater visit Lighthouse Friends.