The lighthouse is located on the north-western tip of the Pakri (Packerort) peninsula, on the edge of a high limestone strip, and marks the seaward edge of the northern coast by an important shipping route and helps with orientation. A lighthouse-like building could have been on the high shore of the Pakri peninsula already during the Swedish rule in the 17th century. In 1724, by order of Peter I, a new limestone lighthouse was erected, the location of which is said to have been shown to the builders by Peter I himself when he visited Paldiski in 1723 as the future main base of the Russian Navy. In 1760, a new 48-foot tall limestone lighthouse was built on the peninsula. It is possible that it was a reconstruction of an earlier tower.
1889. In 2010, a new stone lighthouse was completed 80 m from the old Pakri lighthouse, which at 52 meters was the slimmest on the Estonian beaches. Due to the landslide, the old lighthouse was dangerously close to the edge of the limestone belt, which is why it was demolished up to the first floor after a while and was used as a kerosene warehouse.
1903. In 2010, a separate building for the pneumatic siren and motorists' residence was built north of the lighthouse. In the 1930s, the lighthouse was placed under the control of Mereside Post. An observation tower and a signalmen's residence were added to the complex.
During the Second World War, in 1941, the service buildings and the light equipment of the lighthouse were badly damaged, so most of the service buildings had to be rebuilt. As a newly functional building, a generator building was built in the 1950s, where diesel generators and radio beacon and fog alarm equipment were located. Three residential buildings, a cellar, a sauna, a generator building and two warehouses have been preserved from the service buildings. In 2001, the lighthouse was thoroughly restored.
The lighthouse complex is under national protection as a cultural monument, and the lighthouse is included in the list of 100 lighthouse-architectural monuments compiled by The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). It is no longer possible to admire the partially preserved form of the old lighthouse in Pakri, as the sea has washed away the high embankment and it is only a matter of time when the old lighthouse sinks into the sea.