Fog Signal Building at Beavertail to get Facelift

From the spring newsletter of the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum Association in Jamestown, Rhode Island:

This past fall BLMA was awarded a $12,975 grant from the Champlin Foundations to undertake major restoration of the 1938/1939 historic Fog Signal Building. Work will be started shortly, but the grant requires our organization to match the funded amount.

The building was abandoned by the Coast Guard in 1971 when both the light and the fog signal were automated. The building has since been used as a aquarium and DEM Naturalist Center and has been popular with young visitors, but deteriorated to an unsightly state.

The fog signal building is to the right of the lighthouse

Restoration work will entail repair of cracked mortar , repair and replacement of the glass block windows and their metal frames. The exterior will be parge coated and the red metal roof repainted. Pending available funds we hope to replicate the twin fog signal horn, which protruded from the seaward facing south wall.

Please help us raise the matching funds. Your donation is tax deductible per IRS regulations.

Send to:
BLMA Fog Signal Fund
P.O. Box 83
Jamestown, RI

U.S. Coast Guard Press Release on Boston Light Repair Project

May 13, 2014 U.S. Coast Guard Contact: 1st District Public Affairs Email: D1publicaffairs@uscg.mil Office: (617) 223-8515

COAST GUARD ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR BOSTON LIGHT TRICENTENNIAL

Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont

BOSTON — The Coast Guard has announced plans for the 2016 tricentennial of Boston Light to include a $1.1 million project to repair and renovate structures at the landmark.

The project, outlined Saturday during a public presentation by lighthouse keeper Sally Snowman, is intended to preserve the structural integrity of the lighthouse tower and surrounding buildings and assists in preparing for the light station’s upcoming tricentennial celebrations in 2016.

The ongoing refurbishment plan includes an underground storage tank remediation, a new exterior coating to the lighthouse, new cedar roofs on all structures, new windows in the lighthouse keeper's quarters, and painting of all structures. A new sewage treatment plant and temporary roof repairs have already been completed.

The lighthouse projects and other tricentennial preparations have been organized through the Boston Light Tricentennial Planning Group which includes members from:

        • U.S. Coast Guard
        • National Park Service
        • Boston Harbor Island Alliance
        • Coast Guard Auxiliary
        • Friends of Boston Harbor Islands
        • City of Boston
        • Boston Marine Society
        • Hull Lifesaving Museum

The mission of this planning group is to honor the 300-year service and iconic value of Boston Light to the Coast Guard's maritime heritage through the organization, planning, funding, management and execution of all activities associated with the tricentennial celebration.

"Boston Light, America's first lighthouse, is an iconic symbol of our nation's rich maritime tradition," said Capt. John O'Connor, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Boston. "Boston Light's 300th anniversary in 2016 is an opportunity for us to celebrate the history of this national treasure and to highlight its contribution to the evolution of aids to navigation and the approximately 50,000 other lighthouses, buoys, beacons, and markers safely guide mariners throughout the country. Please follow us in the planning and join us in the celebration of Boston Light's tricentennial."

Boston Light was established on Sept. 14, 1716. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1964. In 1989, Congress decreed Boston Light be operated on a permanently manned basis. It remains the last U.S. Coast Guard-manned lighthouse in the country and is still a major aid to navigation at the entrance to Boston Harbor.

Due to the ongoing repairs, Boston Light will not be open for public tours during the summer of 2014.

For more information on Boston Light and the tricentennial planning, visit www.bostonharborislands.org and Coast Guard Sector Boston Homeport. Media wishing to access the light may contact BostonLightTricentennial@uscg.mil.