Grand Haven's first lighthouse was completed in 1839 and stood on the shore of the south side of the mouth of the Grand River. A second lighthouse was built in 1855 which was located on a high bluff east of the Grand River. A fog-signal building was added to the end of the south pier in 1875. The pier was extended in 1905 and the fog-signal building was moved to the end of the pier. The 1839 South Pier lighthouse was moved from the shore to its current position on the south pier and rebuilt in 1905. A catwalk was added to connect the pierhead light to the inner light and then to the mainland.

The steel sided inner light is a 51-foot-tall cylindrical tower which has painted fire-engine red. At the top of the inner lighthouse is a parapet and lantern room which has been automated. The fire-engine red pierhead light is a square wooden structure with iron siding with a small tower and located several hundred feet from the inner lighthouse. To assist mariners, it houses a light and the fog-signal (horn). It sits on a tall, large white concrete base which comes to a point on the seaward side of the pier.