Muskegon
South Breakwater Light Completed in 1903, this square
steel tower and the south pierhead light replaced a shore light that had
been built in 1852. The light is at the end of a concrete breakwater, that
extends from the shore to enclose the outer harbor, on the south side of the channel that connects Lake
Michigan and Muskegon Lake.
2010 Update - Public tower climbs are one
eventual goal of a volunteer group that's taking possession of the two
red-painted lighthouses next to Muskegon's Pere Marquette Park. The U.S.
General Services Administration transferred ownership of the more than
century-old lighthouses from the federal government to a Fenton-based
historic preservation group called the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.
The Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy is a registered IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit
corporation in the state of Michigan. For more details on the conservancy
please visit
http://www.michiganlights.com.
Conservancy members, none of them from the Muskegon
area, hope to garner help from local volunteers and raise money from local
donors for a preservation and restoration drive. "It's a new beginning for
the lights, and hopefully their future will be bright," said Jeff Shook,
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy president. "We're very excited to start
working on preserving the lights and getting the community involvement."
It won't be cheap, and it will take time. Rough cost
estimates range up to $250,000 apiece for full restoration of the towers,
Shook said. "The whole process is just at the very, very beginning," Shook
said. "This will be a several-year process, and it all depends on how
willing people are in the community to support the project. We'll be looking
at local partners." He said the small group has had some preliminary
contacts with potential Muskegon partners whom he declined to name.
He said preservation is the top priority for the
lighthouses, but at some point the conservancy hopes to open up at least one
of them to the public. Attention likely will focus first on the South
Pierhead Light, the likelier candidate for tower climbs, Shook said. Getting
to the top of the South Breakwater Light is more difficult, and it has less
of a safety railing. Even the South Pierhead Light needs major restoration
before it can be opened to visitors. For example, the watchroom just below
the lantern room has a hole in the floor, Shook said. More information about the Muskegon lights is
available at
www.muskegonlights.org |
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