La Martre Lighthouse, Lighthouse, 10 Av. du Phare, La Martre, Quebec G0E 2H0, Canada
This postcard is a commemorative re-edition of PT-1, the very first postcard sent through Postcrossing, back in 2005. It celebrates 20 years of postcard exchanges, friendships, and connections across the globe - a small tribute to the journey that started with a single card, and grew into a worldwide community.
Sent by Antje from Wuppertal, Germany.
Named after nearby Marten River, La Martre Lighthouse is considered by some to be the crown jewel of the Gaspé lighthouses. Though fully automated, La Martre is the only light in Quebec that operates in a non-automated manner during the day, so that tourists can see the Fresnel lens rotating in its mercury bath using the original system of weights and cables.
The first La Martre Lighthouse, a square, tapered, sixty-four-foot-tall wooden tower with an attached keeper’s dwelling, was built in the tiny village of La Marte overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1876. The total cost for the lighthouse came to $7,347.04. Nine circular wick lamps set in twenty-one-inch reflectors were originally used in the iron lantern room to produce a fixed white light, but the number was reduced from nine in five in 1877. Two black horizontal bands were painted on the white tower in 1881 to help mariners identify the lighthouse during the day (read more).
David Bowie stamp
