Passing through Berwick after spending time at the nearby bridges, you can't really say that a bright red three story lighthouse on stilts is hiding, but the Southwest Reef Lighthouse does feel a little tucked beneath the E. J. "Lionel" Grizzaffi Bridge where US-90 crosses the Atchafalaya River. If you're focused on the road as you come over the span, you'd miss it entirely, which makes the surprise of seeing it up close even better.
We had the place to ourselves this afternoon, which meant I could wander freely around the site, walking underneath the structure to appreciate the stilts and the heavy boiler plate skin, then climbing the stairs up onto the floodwall for an eye level view. From that height the lighthouse feels even more striking, a square pyramidal tower with a presence that's both industrial and elegant, the kind of design you rarely see preserved onshore.
The history here is well documented. Established on September 1, 1859, the Southwest Reef Lighthouse originally stood near the entrance to Atchafalaya Bay on the Gulf Coast, marking the approach for vessels navigating the shifting waters of the bay. Its design is one of only two of its type ever built in the United States, a fully enclosed square pyramid sheathed in boiler plate and elevated on iron piles. When first lit, it displayed a fixed white oil light 54 feet above mean high water, visible for roughly 14 miles across the Gulf. It remained an active aid to navigation until March 30, 1916, when it was replaced by the Point Au Fer Reef Lighthouse. After decommissioning, it continued serving as a day beacon for more than seventy years.
By the 1980s the structure faced deterioration, and in October 1987 the Town of Berwick moved it ashore and restored it, giving the lighthouse a second life as a local landmark. Seeing it now, tucked beneath the modern highway bridge yet still carrying the lines and materials of its 1859 origins, you get a sense of how much maritime history is layered into this small stretch of the Atchafalaya.
[Review 331 of 2026 - 105 in Louisiana - 25518 overall] read more