Special edition: The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse stands today near the buildings of the South Street Seaport Museum, at the corner of Fulton and Pearl streets at the southern end of Manhattan. From 1913 to 1968, it was a familiar sight in its location atop the Seaman’s Church Institute, overlooking the East River. The cornerstone for the lighthouse was laid on April 16, 1912, one day after the news of the sinking of the Titanic reached New York. Many prominent New Yorkers were among the 1496 lives lost in the disaster. When the Seaman’s Church Institute relocated in 1968, the building was demolished. The lighthouse was removed and donated to the South Street Seaport Museum. In May 1976, it was erected at its present location, and it has fallen into disrepair.
Episode 111 – Patos Island is the northernmost of the San Juan Islands in the state of Washington. A light and fog signal station was established in 1893 on the northwestern tip of the island, and a more substantial lighthouse building was added in 1908. In 2007, the Keepers of the Patos Light was formed to preserve the lighthouse. Edrie and Terri Vinson are the authors of a comprehensive book, Patos Island Lighthouse. Also in this episode: The second Cape Canaveral Lighthouse in Florida, a 151-foot cast-iron tower, began service in 1868. The Air Force became the owner of the automated lighthouse in 2000. Then, in 2002, the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation was formed. Rear Admiral Jim Underwood, U.S. Coast Guard retired, is the past president of the Foundation. Becky Zingarelli serves as the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Museum Director.
Episode 112 – Angeli Perrow was born in Rockland on the Maine coast. Her grandfather was a lobsterman and her uncle fished the Grand Banks. As a child, Angeli delighted in exploring the beach with her grandmother, collecting shells and sea glass. She also started writing poems and stories when she was a child. Angeli taught elementary school for 30 years before retiring two years ago. Maine’s maritime history has provided material for much of her writing, including four of her children’s books, Captain’s Castaway, Lighthouse Dog to the Rescue, Sirius the Dog Star, and Love from the Sky, as well as a coloring book. The “Maine Lighthouses Coloring Book” was published in a brand new second edition in March 2021.
Episode 113 – Souter Lighthouse is on the northeast coast of England. When the light went into operation on January 11, 1871, it was one of the first lighthouses in the world to be built specifically to operate using AC electric current. The 77-foot-tall brick lighthouse was designed by James Douglass for Trinity House. Today the light station property is owned by the National Trust. Kate Devlin is the National Trust’s collections and house officer at Souter Lighthouse. Also in this episode: Pomham Rocks Lighthouse is owned by the American Lighthouse Foundation and managed by Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, a chapter of the Foundation. The Friends have completed extensive restoration of the exterior and interior of the lighthouse in the past 15 years. They have a variety of events planned this year for the light station’s 150th anniversary; volunteer Judianne Point discusses the group’s plans.
Episode 114 – Pointe-au-Père is near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and about 160 miles northeast of Quebec City, Canada. The Montreal Ocean Steamship Company established the first lighthouse and foghorn on Pointe-au-Père in 1859. After the original lighthouse was destroyed by fire, a new one was built in 1867. The first and second lighthouses were both wooden dwellings with lanterns on their roofs. Work on the extant lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père began in 1909. The octagonal tower, 92 feet tall, is made of steel-reinforced concrete. Today, the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site offers climbs to the top of the tower and exhibits in the former keeper’s house. Cindy Larouche is the manager of the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site.
Episode 115 – Pater Noster is a small archipelago off the west coast of Sweden. The 105-foot-tall cast-iron lighthouse on one of the islands was constructed in 1868 during a period of intensive lighthouse building in Sweden. Since last year, Pater Noster Lighthouse has been operated as a small hotel. The facilities include rooms with a sea view, a restaurant, and three boathouses for dinner and conferences. The hotel on Pater Noster was awarded the 40th annual Gold Key Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design. Erik Nissen Johansen is the founder and creative director of Stylt Trampoli, a multi-award winning hospitality design company. He is now a partner in the hotel at the Pater Noster Lighthouse.
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Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org