[2][3] An 1896 project to improve harbor facilities resulted in the reconstruction of the sides of the Duluth Ship Canal, bracketing it in the two concrete piers which define its channel to the present.

[4] The design was based on that of the Peche Island Rear Range Light, featuring a short round tower built of steel plates.

[5] All the lights on the canal were maintained by the same keepers; the head keeper lived in a frame house constructed in 1874 with the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light, while the assistants were given a brick duplex in 1913 after years of having to find boarding accommodations on their own.

[4] The North Pier Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 for its local significance in the themes of engineering, maritime history, and transportation.

[6] It was nominated for its association with federal efforts to establish nationwide navigational aids, and for being characteristic of early-20th-century pier and breakwater lights built around the Great Lakes.