The iconic Point Vicente Lighthouse, CA, just turned 100. It needs help

In April 1926, the Point Vicente Lighthouse, the clifftop beacon of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was illuminated for the first time.

Point Vicente, CA - Bruce Rogerson 

Its delicate, rotating glass Fresnel lens cast a yellow beam so powerful that it could be seen 20 miles out to sea.

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Click here to see more of Point Vicente on the USLHS Research Catalog

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Look out, it's lighthouse season. The government is offering 10 fixer-uppers

Have you been longing for a remote lifestyle, waterfront views or the lulling sounds of the sea? Do you have a passion for historical restoration?

Penfield Reef, CT - Mike & Carol McKinney 

The federal government might have just the thing.

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You can spend the night in the off-grid Rose Island, RI, lighthouse on a tiny island - with no wi-fi or crowds 

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the U.S. by land area, but it's not just a tiny swathe of rolling green hills and soft, sandy beaches that make it so special - it's the water beyond it.

Rose Island, RI - David Zapatka 

Head to the southern tip of the Ocean State to fully appreciate Rhode Island first by boat, then by lighthouse.

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Click here to see more of Rose Island on the USLHS Research Catalog

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Frankfort Lighthouse, MI, restoration enters first phase of $1.1M project

Contractors have begun the first phase of a restoration project at the Frankfort Lighthouse, marking the start of a broader effort to preserve the historic structure for future generations.

Frankfort N Breakwater, MI - Chad Kaiser 

Phase one focuses on stabilizing the lighthouse and making it weather-tight through repairs to the lantern room, windows, doors and exterior steel structure, while preservation experts assess the historic Fresnel lens and prepare recommendations for future restoration work.

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Click here to see more of Frankfort N. Breakwater on the USLHS Research Catalog

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Historic Tawas Point Lighthouse, MI, celebrating 150 years

A mid-Michigan landmark is celebrating its 150th birthday.

Tawas Point, MI - USLHS archives 

Admission to the lighthouse will be free on certain days throughout the summer at the historic Tawas Point Lighthouse.

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Click here to see more of Tawas Point on the USLHS Research Catalog

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The 200-year-old Cape Florida Lighthouse, FL, you can still climb on this quiet stretch of coast

There's a particular kind of quiet that settles over a place once you've left the noise of a city behind, even if that city is only a fifteen-minute drive away.

Cape Florida, FL - Ralph Krugler 

At the southern tip of Key Biscayne, that quiet belongs to a whitewashed tower that has been watching the horizon since long before Miami became Miami. Climb its spiral staircase today, and you're following the same path lighthouse keepers walked two centuries ago.

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Click here to see more of Cape Florida on the USLHS Research Catalog

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Two interactive cameras installed atop Five Finger Lighthouse,  AK

Two high-quality interactive web cameras have recently been installed atop Five Finger Lighthouse - one of the world's most renowned humpback whale watching locations.

Five Fingers, AK - USLHS archives  

The Five Finger Lighthouse Society (FFLS) installed a similar camera earlier this year at the lower boathouse level. Now there are two more atop the lighthouse - one facing north, one south.

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Click here to see more of Five Finger on the USLHS Research Catalog

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7 Lighthouse Cruise - featuring Maine's Matinicus Rock + puffins

Join us on Sunday, July 26th for a special 8-hour cruise aboard the Camden Harbor Cruise's vessel, Periwinkle to see 7 lighthouses in southern Penobscot Bay, including Matinicus Rock. 

Matinicus Rock, ME - Jeremy D'Entremont 

Other lighthouses you will see are: Curtis Island, Indian Island, Rockland Breakwater, Owl's Head, Browns Head, Heron Neck and Matinicus Rock

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Click here to see more of Maine's lighthouses on the USLHS Research Catalog

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A new beacon for the old Chatham Lighthouse, MA

Keeping guard over the harbor since 1877, Chatham Light has just been equipped with a modern LED beacon, replacing inefficient World War II-era lights that have been failing with increasing frequency.

Chatham, MA - USLHS archives 

The new $15,000 unit, installed in a single day by the Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation Team (ANT), is markedly smaller than the old drum beacons, which were initially designed for use at wartime air bases.

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Click here to see more of Chatham on the USLHS Research Catalog

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My life with Gerald Butler: I was one of Ireland's last lighthouse keepers

Lighthouse keeping had been a dream of mine from the age of four. Having stated life in West Cork, I grew up under the umbrella of these coastal giants. 

Gerald Butler, courtesy of Gerald Butler 

Not everyone gets the chance to live out their dream, but for me, it was a very natural progression. I was a one of 15 children, and lighthouse keeping was on both sides of the family. My father and his maternal grandfather were light keepers. as was my mother.

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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 Ralph Krugler at ralph@uslhs.org 

Submitted by Ralph Krugler on