Barnegat Lighthouse (NJ) closed for facelift
Now Barnegat Lighthouse is one of the most photographed sites in New Jersey for another reason – the encircling scaffolding that is climbing its way up the structure. This will be another grounded summer for lighthouse lovers who seek to scale the 217 spiral steps inside. The state’s $1.3 million repair work will keep the tower closed into October. COVID had also closed the lighthouse to climbing during the pandemic, so it’s not the first time in recent years that visitors had to keep their distance.
During the restoration work, the rest of Barnegat Lighthouse State Park will remain open: the jetty walkway, the inlet-side picnic tables and pavilion, the interpretive center in the low stone building on the entrance pathway, the nature trail that overlooks the ocean and winds into the maritime forest. Restoration is under the direction of the state Department of Environmental Protection, by its Division of Parks and Forestry arm.
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Iconic Warwick (RI) lighthouse to be restored
The lighthouse at Conimicut Point Park in Warwick will soon get a facelift, thanks to a federal grant secured by the city. The city has been awarded a $775,000 federal grant to restore the iconic lighthouse, according to Mayor Frank Picozzi. Picozzi said the Conimicut Shoals Lighthouse “has stood as a sentinel, guiding and protecting sailors since 1883.”
Picozzi said the city applied for a Community Project Funding grant last year with the help of Rep. Jim Langevin. “She’s strong and beautiful, but for a long time she’s needed some tender love and care,” Picozzi said of the lighthouse. “For the last 18 years, the city just hasn’t been able to locate the funding to do so.”
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Fancy Becoming a Croatian Lighthouse Keeper? Now You Can!
Ever fancied getting away for a bit to somewhere isolated and idyllic and just collecting your thoughts? Becoming a Croatian lighthouse keeper may offer you all of that, and the ability to not go totally insane by being able to spend some time at home, too.
The company Plovput from Split has announced a competition for the position of a Croatian lighthouse keeper at the position of Sveti Ivan na Pučini, close to Rovinj in Istria. Although many would like to find themselves in this role today, one should know that this is a really specific and distinctive profession, and that there are only about thirty people qualified for this job left on the Adriatic today.
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Public comment period for Ocracoke Light Station (NC) restoration has ended
A public comment period on an environmental assessment (EA) for the future rehabilitation and restoration of the Ocracoke Light Station ended on April 13. Two lightly-attended meetings were held in Ocracoke village on March 28 about the upcoming project, which seeks to repair and possibly raise historic buildings that are located at the Light Station site.
The Ocracoke Light Station project is needed because these historic structures have been damaged from recent storms, and if the buildings are left as they are, it is expected that they will be damaged further by future weather events.
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Fraserburgh’s Museum of Scottish Lighthouses receives £100,000 donation after Storm Arwen damage
Fraserburgh’s Museum of Scottish Lighthouses has been given a generous donation of £100,000 to transform their coastal museum. Last year, the roof of the museum’s store room was blown off, causing substantial damage to the building. Thousands of historical and irreplaceable artifacts were exposed to the chaos of the storm, which met the museum’s small team with shock and horror. The team was then greeted with the daunting task of rescuing collections and figuring out where to start.
The museum was approached by a Fraserburgh-based company, who after a look over their renovation plans, has now donated £100,000 towards the project.
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Whitehaven’s West Pier lighthouse (England) smashed up just after renovation unveiled
The public has been left raging after the long-awaited unveiling of the West Pier lighthouse in Whitehaven has been wrecked within 24 hours of being displayed to the public. John Baker, Chief Executive of Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, has vowed they will not be beaten and will make the repairs. He said: “This is not going to stop us, we will repair the damage and continue doing what we have been doing.”
The Harbour Commission put out a statement saying: “After the fabulous unveiling of the West Pier Lighthouse and the great coverage and feedback, we are all shattered and dismayed to report that overnight someone, or some people, have vandalized six of the new windows by launching large metal objects at them, completely breaking one window and damaging the frame of another. The other four that were attacked have all been cracked or shattered.
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Cape Byron Lighthouse (Australia) receives heritage award
Cape Byron Lighthouse has been named the 2021 Heritage Lighthouse of the Year by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which operates the lighthouse, presented the prestigious international award to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, which manages the light station and museum.
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$5.9 million in Oswego Harbor/Lighthouse (NY) repairs slated for late summer/early fall
New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand recently announced they’d secured $5.9 million for repairs on Oswego Harbor’s West Arrowhead Breakwater and the Oswego Lighthouse as part of the bipartisan omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year 2022. According to Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Avery Schneider of the Buffalo district of the Army Corps of Engineers, work will begin this summer or fall on repair to the breakwall and lighthouse.
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Nubble Lighthouse art: Teen’s artwork of Maine landmark draws raves (ME)
A rose laid in front of the famous Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine — to 16-year-old Owen Clark — represents life and death, as well as the end of love. Now, Clark’s drawing will be for sale at the Nubble Lighthouse gift shop this summer. It garnered attention after appearing last year on the cover of his father’s children’s book, “The Nubble Lighthouse is Special to Me Because.” Clark has since sold numerous prints online and is excited to see the drawing go to retail store shelves, signifying growth in his young career as an illustrator.
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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 D’Entremont at Jeremy@uslhs.org
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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