Michigan's Point Betsie Lighthouse restoration continues

We've visited northern Michigan's Point Betsie Lighthouse many times, taking a special interest in restoration work at the lighthouse as it proceeded over recent years, and regular Midwest Guest readers may recall that I recently wrote about Michigan's Point Betsie Lighthouse receiving a Governor's Award for Historic Preservation.

We saw a lot of the exterior improvements at the lighthouse during a winter visit last year, and finally saw some of the interior improvements during our visit to Point Betsie earlier this month.

Flaking paint, empty rooms, and ugly linoleum greeted visitors five years ago when volunteers opened Point Betsie for public tours inside of the lighthouse as they started an ambitious preservation program.

We could see a lot of the exterior improvements the last time we stopped by for a winter visit, but it was a pleasant surprise when we stepped into the lighthouse this month to see the freshly painted walls, period furniture, and beautiful wood floors in many of the rooms. Even the tower's interior and steps wore a fresh coat of paint in marked contrast to the flaking, grey paint we saw when we last climbed the tower during a summer visit.

This time, we climbed the tower to visit the lighthouse's tiny lantern room. From the tower, we overlooked another more recently completed restoration project, the Point Betsie fog signal building. If you look closely at my photos of the red fog signal building, you can spot part of a Dumpster sitting behind the lighthouse, evidence of the continuing renovation work.

We stopped by the fog signal building later to view the historical exhibits and watch a video about the work of the lifesaving station crew in the late 1800s.

Work still continues in several of the rooms at the lighthouse and on planned exhibits. I spotted a sign in one of the partially finished and empty rooms announcing a future exhibit about the local ecology planned for that space by The Nature Conservancy, while several other spaces already housed historical exhibits.

I expressed my wish to see the interior and hope that the changes would continue to honor the site's original character. An unexpected opportunity to travel north granted my wish to see the restoration progress, and I loved seeing the lighthouse looking so refreshed and well cared for.

Check back here Friday for a few more photos from our latest visit to the lighthouse.

 

Check out my previous stories about Point Betsie's restoration and its 152-year history:

Point Betsie Lighthouse wins Michigan's Governor's Award

Happy Birthday, Betsie!

 

Want to learn even more about lighthouse and its history? Pick up the book Point Betsie: Lightkeeping and Lifesaving on Northeastern Lake Michigan by Jonathan P. Hawley. Author Hawley is president of the Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse, with his book drawing from many primary sources and including many historic photos.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

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Comments

[Andrew]

Love the pictures! We toured Point Betsie shortly after it was opened for tours and little if any restoration work was done at that point. I love seeing the progress they have made. It's just beautiful.

Now if I could just find time to make a run up there before summer is over . . .

[Dominique King]

Andrew-Thanks for stopping by!
The first tour we took inside the lighthouse probably happened around the same time you went (about 5 years ago). I was happy we were able to finally get up there at the right time of year again to see what they'd been up to with the interior renovations. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.
Most of the rooms looked pretty completed-that bathroom in my photos and the small room reserved for a Nature Conservancy exhibit were the two that I remember as being unfinished (although the walls, floors, ceilings, etc. were finished in the latter room--looks like they just need to install the exhibit now). I'll be anxious to see what else they'll have done the next time I'm up there in summer.