Baltimore's Bent Beacon: The Crooked Lighthouse of Craighill Channel

Sitting tall in Baltimore, one of a pair that greets ships into the harbor, we've got the Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Light. Back in 1870, these parts saw Congress drop $50,000 to expand Baltimore, ever so kindly renaming the new canals after one William Craighill, a lighthouse board dude who supervised the digging. Might've planned some screw-pile lighthouses, but winter ice in 1872-1873 foiled the front light, ending up as a small caisson structure.

Our Iron Behemoth, mind you, stood on nine stone piers, with an iron tower at the top. Now here's a twist: a wooden central shaft, old-school cedar wood and iron plates, held the stairs to the lantern. Rot-prone from day one, but constant repairs kept it afloat until the light went automated in 1923. They booted the wooden shack out and left the place vacant in 1938. Nowadays, the tower stands alone, a historic protector of Baltimore's nautical history. Guess what? The Coast Guard figured it was high time to replace this beauty in 1994.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons