When Is the Cape Henry Lighthouse Opening Again?

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Cape May Lighthouse

Greatcoat May Lighthouse Greg Panos 2022-04-21T12:38:08-04:00

• 

215 LIGHTHOUSE AVE.
Located in Cape May Point State Park

Open up daily 11AM – 3PM

Climb the 199 steps upwards the original, bandage iron spiral stairway to the peak of the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse and see a staggering view of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, the surrounding nature trails of Cape May Signal Country Park, and Cape May Point Borough. Interpretive panels on the grounds, at the base and on the climb tell stories of Lighthouse Keepers, the surrounding area, and how the lighthouse functioned historically and today. The Cape May Lighthouse is the third beacon at this location. Still an active aid to navigation, it was restored and is maintained past Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Since Cape May MAC opened it to the public in 1988, more than 2.5 1000000 visitors take climbed to the tiptop. The Cape May Lighthouse is listed in the Land and National Registers of Celebrated Places.

Admission
$12 adults
$8 children (ages three-12)
FREE for members – Observe-out more!

The Oil Business firm on the grounds contains a fully accessible Visitors' Orientation Center and Museum Shop.

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Save WITH Combo TICKETS!

Cape May Lighthouse & World State of war 2 Sentry Tower

$18 adults | $12 children (ages 3-12)

*Discounted admissions available at Greatcoat May Lighthouse or World War II Lookout man Tower

CAPE MAY LIGHTHOUSE BRICK PAVER Plan

Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) is offering a limited opportunity to celebrate a light in your life! The pathway at the 1859 Greatcoat May Lighthouse is being repaved and volition include a limited number of engraved bricks. Laurels someone special to you with this fixture equally a remembrance or simply celebrate your own or your family'south love of the lighthouse! Bricks may be purchased online below or in person at the Cape May Lighthouse or at the Colina House Business organisation Office at the Emlen Physick Estate.

Installation is on-going over the course of 2022.

ABOUT U.s.

VIRTUAL TOUR

Special Events & Activities

LIGHTHOUSE Full MOON CLIMB

April sixteen, May 16

seven-9PM

June 14, July 13, Aug 11

8-10 PM

Follow the light of the full moon on this rare nighttime climb upward the 199 bandage iron screw staircase steps to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse. Savour a nighttime view nearly 156 feet to a higher place the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Interpretive panels forth the climb tell stories of Lighthouse Keepers, the surrounding surface area, and how the lighthouse functioned historically, and are located at landings along the way. The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse is a country historic site and the 3rd buoy on this site. Still an active aid to navigation, it was restored and is maintained by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Since it opened to the public in 1988, more ii.5 one thousand thousand visitors take climbed to the top, just far fewer have climbed at nighttime.

Purchase tickets from the Lighthouse Keeper the evening of the issue.

LIGHTHOUSE Claiming OF NJ

Oct 15 & 16, 2022

The Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey is a two-day result held every twelvemonth on the third weekend in October to encourage participants to visit participating lighthouses, life-saving stations and museums throughout the state. Commemorative T-shirts and mementos are offered for purchase to participants each year. Each participating site determines its hours and participation level. Each site may charge an entry fee.

STAIRWAY TO THE STARS LIGHTHOUSE CLIMB

April xxx, May 30

7-9PM

June 28, July 28, Aug 27

8-ten PM

Without the calorie-free of the moon, you lot come across the stars smooth! Climb the 199 steps to the summit of the Greatcoat May Lighthouse on evenings of the New Moon and the start of a new 29.5-day lunar cycle, when the moon is so dark it blends in with the night sky and is invisible to the naked eye. Stars and constellations are more visible on clear nights during the New Moon! Binoculars are permitted if securely worn around the neck at all times

Buy tickets from the Lighthouse Keeper the evening of the event.

Larn More

What to Expect

The Lighthouse is located at Cape May Indicate State Park.  The fully-restored Oil House, nearly the base of the Lighthouse is home to a Museum Store, also equally an orientation eye for those who choose not to climb.

There are 199 steps on the spiral staircase. The metallic gridwork is open up, and so you cannot climb in heels. At that place are 6 levels with landings where you tin can read the informational panels virtually the history of the Lighthouse and the surrounding area (and catch your breath, as well!). Once at the acme, y'all tin can leave to the scout gallery and bask a scenic and panoramic view.

At that place is abundant gratis parking for all types of vehicles, and rest rooms are available in the State Park buildings. There is a museum with live reptiles and nature displays where information on park services is available, plus data on the history of the area and of the World War Two Bunker, located on the beach. Covered pavilions are available for picnicking, which must be reserved through the state park offices.

The State Park offers many opportunities for nature lovers, including the Militarist Watch platform and well-developed and marked nature trails, and guided walks and programs are offered. Summertime programming is offered to introduce visitors to the history of the Lighthouse and is gratis of accuse. The beach is free but pond is not allowed.

All areas of the park are "acquit in, carry out" in regard to trash or recyclables; delight practise not litter. The park is generally open sunrise to dusk; Lighthouse hours for climbing vary with the season and are listed on our website or in "The Week in Cape May."

For more information about the Country Park, call 609-884-2159

Fun Facts

Who  worked  at  the Lighthouse?

The Lighthouse was staffed by keepers who worked for the U.S. Lighthouse Service.  The Cape May Lighthouse generally had one head lighthouse keeper and two administration.  They carried the oil to the top of the tower every solar day to power the light, and kept the lens apparatus clean and in working club.  Keepers' pay averaged $600 a year around the turn of the 20th century.

Where did the keepers alive?

In that location were ii houses built correct next to the Cape May Lighthouse around 1860 for the lighthouse keepers and their families.  One has since burned, just the other is still continuing, on the other side of the debate, near the entrance to the belfry.

How tall is the Lighthouse?

The lighthouse tower is 157 feet 6 inches tall, from the ground line to the ventilator brawl on meridian.

How many steps are there to the acme?

At that place are 217 steps from the basis to the top, with 199 steps in the tower's cast iron screw staircase.

How old is the Lighthouse?

The Cape May Lighthouse was built in 1859, and is the third fully documented lighthouse to be built at Cape May Betoken.  The first was congenital in 1823; the 2nd in 1847.  The exact locations of the outset two lighthouses are at present underwater due to erosion.

How thick are the brick walls?

The Lighthouse actually has two separate walls.  The outside wall is cone-shaped, and is three feet 10 inches thick at the bottom, and 1 foot 6 inches thick at the top.  The inside wall is a cylinder with viii.five-inch thick walls which support the screw staircase.  The walls were designed to withstand winds several times above hurricane strength.

Is the buoy notwithstanding working?

Yes.  The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate the light as an active aid to navigation.  The light is visible 24 miles out to bounding main and flashes every 15 seconds.  A lighthouse's flash pattern is called its "characteristic;" every lighthouse has its own lite characteristic and exterior paint scheme (chosen a daymark) so that send captains can tell them autonomously.

What were the two small-scale rooms on either side of the entrance hallway used for?

They were storage rooms that held tools,  implements and fuel for the lantern before the Oil House was built. The keeper also used one as a small office.

Who owns the Lighthouse?

The State of New Bailiwick of jersey owns the Lighthouse, just the Coast Guard maintains the buoy apparatus.  Cape May MAC (Museums + Arts + Culture) leases the Lighthouse from the State with the mission of restoring the structure and operating it equally a historic site.

Restoration

The last keeper of the lighthouse retired in the 1930s. After that, the beacon was automated, and the United states of america Coast Guard maintained the workings of the calorie-free. In the 1980s, the Coast Guard began to lease historic lighthouses to local preservation groups who could preserve and restore these important structures.

In December, 1986, through special agreement with both the Coast Guard and the State of New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Cape May Lighthouse was leased to Cape May MAC (Museums + Arts + Culture). A not-turn a profit organisation headquartered at the Emlen Physick Estate in Cape May, Cape May MAC assumed the responsibility of restoring the lighthouse, interpreting it equally a celebrated site and opening it to the public.

The process of restoration took over 15 years (1987-2002), and was funded by nearly $2 1000000 in grants, principally from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the Inter-Modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) programme, administered by the State Department of Transportation.

Cape May MAC supervised the restoration of the lighthouse windows and doors, the addition of safety improvements, the restoration of the oil business firm which is at the entrance to the lighthouse grounds, the restoration of the lantern roof and windows, the interior walls and staircase, an archaeological investigation that located the original privies and walkways and the restoration of the grounds.

The lighthouse has also been re-painted in its original color scheme, in which the tower is a calorie-free beige and the lantern is red.

Nearly 100,000 visitors a year now feel a visit to the meridian of the lighthouse, participating in a century former rite of a visit to the Bailiwick of jersey Shore.

Cape May Lighthouse Photos

Trip Advisor Reviews

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Source: https://capemaymac.org/experience/cape-may-lighthouse/

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