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Great Lakes Forever
c/o Biodiversity Project
4507 N Ravenswood #106
Chicago, IL 60640
773-496-4020 phone
773-906-1303 fax
project@biodiverse.org
 

Lighthouse Rehab:
Learn More About It


 
  • Each lighthouse has a unique lighting pattern and color, controlled by the rotating lenses in the light tower. For example, while Raspberry Island's lighting pattern is a fixed white light varied by a white flash every 90 seconds, Chicago Harbor Lights has a red light, and Marblehead Light in Bay Point, Ohio has a green one!
  • Because lighthouses are now automated and are not in need of "keepers of the light", this leaves the houses open for others. Most of the houses are museums and open for tourists, but some lighthouses are used by less conventional occupants; Presque Isle Lighthouse houses the park employees, and Wind Point Light near Racine, WI has been converted into a police station!
  • The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 allows the transfer of privately owned lighthouses to the government or local organizations at no cost, in order that the lighthouses will be able to be better maintained. The government or organization must follow the guidelines set by the Act, and also be financially able to take on this project in order for the transfer to be approved.
  • Check out Midwest Connection's interactive lighthouse map (external link), which lists and describes every lighthouse on the Great Lakes.
  • Visit the National Park Service Raspberry Island Lighthouse Rehabilitation Web site (external link) to learn more about the restoration projects underway
In Wisconsin airs on Thursday nights at 7:00 pm on most Wisconsin public television stations, and on Sunday mornings at 11:30 am on WMVS in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Public Television is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin- Extension .  Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/DT, Madison; WPNE-TV/DT, Green Bay; WHRM-TV/DT, Wausau; WLEF-TV/DT, Park Falls; WHLA- TV/DT, LaCrosse; and  WHWC-TV/DT, Menomonie-Eau Claire.  

Paid for, in part, by a grant from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA06NOS4190183