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The American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) has not renewed its lease with the City of Rockland, Maine for the historic Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse.
The lighthouse is a popular destination that is visited by thousands of people every year who make the nearly mile-long walk out over the breakwater to the iconic structure.
ALF had leased the lighthouse from the City of Rockland since 2001; and its chapter, the Friends of Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, reportedly raised approximately $300,000 to restore the 1902 lighthouse and open it to the public during the summer seasons.
According to ALF, a combination of causes, such as the Pandemic and an aging volunteer base, forced them to reach the conclusion to not renew their lease with the City. The lighthouse had not been open to the public for the past two years.
Twenty years ago, the editors of this magazine played a pivotal role in creating the original two groups that took over the lighthouse and did the initial jump-start of the fundraising in partnerships with two other former businesses. We believe that a part-time paid staff could have managed the lighthouse during the summer months, thereby fulfilling the group’s lighthouse mission.
The City of Rockland is looking into the next steps that it will take for the future care of the lighthouse.
This story appeared in the
Nov/Dec 2021 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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