Chennai Lighthouse

The Chennai Lighthouse stands on Kamarajar Salai at the northern end of the Marina Beach promenade, where Beach Road meets Santhome High Road and Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai. Constructed in 1976 by the firm East Coast Constructions and Industries and opened in January 1977, it is solar powered, has a lift, and also houses a meteorological office. It reopened to visitors on 16 November 2013, and it is the only lighthouse in India inside city limits.

It is the fourth light the city has had. The first, lit in 1796 on the terrace of what is now the Fort Museum at Fort St. George, burned coconut oil in 12 lamps. A granite column designed by T. J. Smith, in the present High Court compound, took over in 1844, and in 1894 a dome of the High Court became the third. The Light House MRTS station is close by.