The Lighthouse (BioShock Infinite)



"DeWitt- Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. This is your last chance!"

- Note on the Lighthouse's door

Located near Portland and off the coast of Maine, the Lighthouse is one of the ten stations serving as a relay for departures to and returns from the floating city of Columbia. It is also the first level of BioShock Infinite.

BioShock Infinite
The Lighthouse is first seen in the opening scene of the game during a stormy and dark day. Booker DeWitt travels by rowboat with a man and a woman cloaked in yellow raincoats, who leave him on the dock before rowing back to the coast. The structure has three floors, each of them decorated with a needlepoint quote from Comstock as well as several crates and pieces of furniture. The second floor features a desk and a phone with no tonality, as well as a map of Columbia's path around the United States, a list of schedules for departures and returns related to each relay station across the country. Pinned on the map is a written note signed with Comstock's initial, warning of someone's arrival, and ordering the man in post to stop him. Several bloodstains and an overthrown library lead to the third floor, where the lighthouse keeper is found tied to a chair, with a sack drawn over his head, and dead by a gunshot wound to the head. Various tools around suggest the man had been tortured before the arrival of DeWitt.

The Lens Room at the top of the Lighthouse is locked by gate with a three-bell security system. The three bells are inscribed with the Scroll, the Key, and the Sword. To open the gate, Booker needs to ring the Scroll bell once, and the other two bells twice each, as indicated on the card which was giving to him upon his arrival. The Lighthouse then sends out a series of lights and tones, and receives tones back from the city above the clouds. This indicates to Columbia (when the city has reached the station) the coming of a relay vessel. The gate unlocks and a red chair is exposed to Booker which, after he sits himself down, straps him in and flips upside down to reveal concealed rocket booster nozzles in the last floor of the tower. The chair turns back around and the now-assembled pod launches into to the sky to Columbia.

Lighthouse in the Sea of Doors


In the last chapter of the game, after Elizabeth acquires her full powers and takes herself and Booker to the hub of the Sea of Doors, she explains to Booker that lighthouses serve as doors to other realities. She then proceeds to further explain the significance of "A Lighthouse" as one of the three Constants of the multiverse (the other two being "A Man" and "A City").

Behind the Scenes

 * Upon closer inspection, the distant buildings seem to be small cardboard cutouts of Soldier's Field, with yellow saturation to simulate far-off lights.
 * After the Luteces drop you off, they continue rowing on for a good while until they eventually hit an invisible wall on the edge of the map and stop.
 * The Lutece Twins also appear to row in a direction further out to sea. Which would be counterintuitive to anybody who does "exist," unlike the twins. Or possibly as sailors know, may have been rowing across a tide or current to be able to arrive at their destination.


 * The boosters that propel the "Pilgrim Rocket" to Columbia can be seen on the roof of the top floor of the lighthouse. In theory, whenever the rocket is used, the contents and occupants of the room below would be promptly incinerated by the boosters.
 * Once Booker has rung the bells in their proper order, the door to the "Pilgrim Rocket" will swing inwards; out of the rain. However, even when sheltered by the roof, rain continues to pour down the door. This is likely an oversight by the developers.
 * A note found in the Lutece Labs, which highlights the lighthouse and says "the only obstacle", further suggests that it was they who killed the lighthouse keeper, in order for Booker to pass through unnoticed. Why they executed him in such a manner is unknown, although the torture may have been a way for them to get Booker the ringing order for the bells.
 * The lighthouse features a telephone that can be interacted with by Booker. However, it has no effect when used, similar to the pay-phones found in BioShock and BioShock 2.
 * The light from the lighthouse in the beginning of the game rotates counter-clockwise when outside at the base, but clockwise when outside at the top. This is likely an oversight by the developers.
 * The numbers on the card (1,2,2) are likely a reference to the number of attempts Booker tried beforehand.
 * The Columbia lighthouse appears to be within eyeshot of land. Therefore, it is most likely perceived as a more common place and uninteresting towards land dwellers, unlike Rapture's "Phantom Lighthouse" which was turned into a legend among the populace.
 * The note warning about the arrival hints that the Founders are preparing to stop Booker from reaching Columbia. The note is also signed with a C, suggesting that the order came directly from Comstock himself.
 * According to the travel map for Columbia, the departure list is missing Boston, MA, Columbus, GA, Ruston, LA, and Amarillo, TX.