Port Austin Reef Light

“What a long strange trip it’s been...”

Forgive me for borrowing that line from the Grateful Dead
to describe our Lighthouse journey over the past three and a half decades. But that is exactly how it’s been!

A little history refresher: The Port Austin Reef Light Association (PARLA) was organized back in the late 1980’s specifically for the purpose of SAVING the lighthouse. The Coast Guard had already decommissioned it, with plans for demolition in the future. We were determined to NOT let that happen.

Armed with brooms, trash bags, hammers and chainsaws (not to mention hard hats and 50 gallon drums) - we set out to clean up the building and protect it from the elements.

That included tearing down the old roof and dormer, building a new roof, replacing windows and doors, and fixing stair steps and safety chains. Our immediate goal was to make it clean(ish), safe, and bird-proof.

Over the years we continued cleaning (constantly), painting and repairing - with the dream of someday being able to restore the lighthouse to its former glory. (A monumental task that needed lots of money, and lots of expertise that we did not have.) All of our work over the years has been to preserve the historic building so it would be in the best shape it could be for future restoration.

Our hard work was eventually recognized and rewarded when the federal government passed on the deed to the lighthouse to PARLA (in a very memorable ceremony at Waterfront Park, some 25 years later).

We continued maintaining the light, totally repairing the dock at one point. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard adhered to their twice a year schedule of checking and servicing the beacon itself.

Fast forward to the fall of 2022, when we secured an MDOT “TAP” grant to historically restore the entire exterior of the lighthouse. The bid for the work was awarded to ICC Commonwealth of New York, who has a division dedicated solely to historic preservation (EXACTLY what we needed). We also negotiated with them to work on the interior portion (not covered by the grant, but to be financed by us and donations). All of 2023 and 2024 was focused on restoration efforts.
What has been completed is impressive, and beyond even some of our expectations.

BUT, there is still more work to be done. So - what is slated for summer 2025?

*ICC workers will be back on June 9 to finish off the lamp house: installing the custom-made curved glass panels and the original brass vents and sealing the door.

*Zimmerman Electric will be finishing up the electrical connections and power support for the lens, installing the rest of the lighting fixtures, and completing the solar energy items, wind turbine and batteries.

*Dan Spinella of Artworks will be traveling from Florida to install the new replica Fresnel lens in the lamp house.

*A special “lighting” ceremony is set for July 26 - at Bird Creek Park

*No public tours this summer (sorry - still under construction)

Watch for additional updates in next month’s Port Austin News, plus check us out on Facebook and on our website
www.portaustinreeflight.org

We still have funds to raise in our Keep the Light Shining matching gift campaign!

To date, the Port Austin Reef Light Association has raised and reinvested more than $1.1 million dollars into the final phase of restoration. But we still need to raise $22,000 in order to complete the restoration work.

Can you help Keep the Light Shining? We still have sponsorships available at many dollar levels. Every gift of $100 and above will be recognized inside the lighthouse. For generations to come, you and your family can come and see your unique contribution to the lighthouse.

Please make a gift today and help make us one step closer to completion.

To learn more about how you can help to Keep the Light Shining, click on the Learn More button below.