News

Lighthouse News of the Week – March 20, 2020

Lighthouse organizations and museums deal with the COVID-19 pandemic

We know this has been a difficult and stressful time for many of our friends in the lighthouse world. We will remain a strong community and we will persevere, knowing that brighter days will return.

Like everyone in the U.S. and elsewhere, people in the lighthouse community have had their lives changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many events have been canceled or postponed, including the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance annual conference in May, the American Lighthouse Foundation’s annual gala in April, Florida Lighthouse Day at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, and the April Spring Fling for Lighthouse Preservation in Maine, among others.

And many lighthouses and lighthouse-related museums have been closed or have had their seasonal openings delayed, including the National Lighthouse Museum at Staten Island, NY; Old Point Loma, CA; Point Bonita, CA; Cape May, NJ; Currituck Beach, NC; Presque Isle, PA; Port Boca Grande, FL; Jupiter Inlet, FL; Anclote Key, FL; Split Rock, MN; St. Simons, GA; Fire Island, NY; East Point, NJ; Tybee Island, GA, and others. This is just a partial list.

We send along all our best wishes that you all stay healthy, both as individuals and as organizations.

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Military Matters: The Makapuu Lighthouse

Aside from the mispronunciation of “Fresnel,” here’s a nice little video on the Makapuu Lighthouse in Hawaii, home to the largest operational lens in the United States.

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Puducherry Lighthouse in India to be renovated

The 184-year-old Puducherry Lighthouse is about to be renovated, with the work expected to be completed by March 2021. The old lighthouse is said to be the highest point in Puducherry. It was built by the French in 1836.

Puducherry Lighthouse (The Hindu)

“The restoration work includes replacement of rafters and beams and re-plastering of the structure. CPWD will be taking up landscaping with proper pathways and greenery. Once the restoration is complete, the structure is going to be the pride of Puducherry and will be an added attraction on the Boulevard. Anybody who visits Puducherry must make it a point to visit the lighthouse,” said G. Ravindranath, Commissioner of GST and Central Excise.

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U.S. Lighthouse Society News is produced by the U.S. Lighthouse Society to support lighthouse preservation, history, education and research.

If you have items of interest to the lighthouse community and its supporters, please email them to Jeremy at Jeremy@uslhs.org

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