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The
beautiful Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse will be preserved for future generations
to enjoy via a public-private partnership formed in 2004 via the National
Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA). The City of Annapolis, The
United States Lighthouse Society and its Chesapeake Chapter, the Annapolis
Maritime Museum, and Anne Arundel County joined forces to obtain ownership
of the lighthouse from the federal government.
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PHOTO:
Harry Fahl
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The partners
are dedicated to maintaining and preserving the lighthouse, to restoring
it for historic interpretation, and to operating it for public tours.
Under our
partnership agreements, the City of Annapolis is the lighthouse owner;
the United States Lighthouse Society and its Chesapeake Chapter are the
lighthouse managers, leasing the structure from the City for all aspects
of preservation and operations; the Annapolis Maritime Museum is our primary
shore-based component, housing lighthouse exhibits and being the point
of departure for public tours; and Anne Arundel County provides preservation
and environmental expertise.
The lighthouse
will continue to be an active and Coast Guard-maintained aid to navigation.
Preservation planning and initial design work were done in 2005, along with extensive cleaning and removal of modern fabric. The major exterior preservation work started building up in 2006 and is now nearly complete. The focus now turns to finishing the restoration work on the interior of the lighthouse. Go to our Preservation section for more details and look at the Photos section to see what we have accomplished. Stay tuned to regular updates on our progress here in our News section below.
Public tours started in 2007 and are conducted every summer. Go to our Tours section for more details.
The Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark - one of only ten lighthouses in the country to be bestowed this highest honor.
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News |
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TPS Lighthouse Keeper Photos
These are the first photos we have encountered of a TPS lighthouse keeper actually on board of the lighthouse! The photos are of Assistant Keeper Earl C. Harris (standing alone by one of the boat davits) and of Principal Keeper Henry F.G. Bryant, Asst Keeper Harris and two friends. The two images, taken in 1939 or 1940, were given to the U.S. Lighthouse Society by Wayne Harris, a nephew of Asst. Keeper Harris. Previous news items on this website included a photo of Principal Keeper Bryant and his wife posing ashore for their 50 th wedding anniversary, which were provided to us by his grandsons, Bob & Bill Bryant. Asst. Keeper Harris was Principal Keeper Bryant’s son-in-law, which makes Wayne Harris and Bob & Bill Bryant sort of “related” by marriage, although they did not know each other until we connected them. Thank you, Wayne!
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Roof Restoration Completed
Come see our “new” shiny roof with its distinctive red color! The roof areas were last painted in 2000/2001 by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the elements had taken their toll on it, with many areas showing the exposed metal roof, and most other areas very faded in color, and with lots of white seagull guano (see first picture, taken in March). It’s now so clean and bright, you need sunglasses to look at it, even when it’s not sunny! The work was done by Houck Specialty Contractors of Harrisburg, PA using elastomeric Acrymax coatings from Preservation Products, Inc., of Media, PA. Houck’s on-site team, led by foreman Don Long, pressure-washed the roof areas – this includes all of the standing-seam metal roof areas (red), as well as the sides of the dormers (white), and the lantern gallery (red), lantern pediment and dome (black) – and then applied one coat of primer and two coats of the finish products. These advanced coatings are designed to withstand the elements for at least 10 years with minimal maintenance. They worked four long days a week for four weeks in June, without a single day being cancelled due to weather. Daily transportation was provided by our own volunteer Captain Howard Lewis and project oversight by volunteer Tom McCracken; they were both very impressed with Houck’s work ethic, workmanship, professionalism, teamwork and can-do attitude. Houck and Preservation Products made a significant donation by reducing the price for us by roughly 25%. The contract was funded in large part by a $25,000 grant from the France-Merrick Foundation of Baltimore. Our sincere thanks to the folks from Houck Specialty Contractors, Preservation Products, the France-Merrick Foundation, Captain Howard and Tom for their efforts and support!
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Window Shutters Installed
Functioning window shutters were recently installed on the six windows on the first story of the lighthouse for the first time in at least 50 years. Window shutters were part of the original lighthouse design and construction, but the U.S. Coast Guard removed them as an unnecessary item sometime in the 1940’s or 1950’s. The six sets of custom cedar shutters were donated by Timberlane Woodcrafters of Montgomeryville, PA, to whom we are most grateful. The design process was managed by volunteer Sherri Marsh. They were painted a nice glossy green by volunteers Henry & Chris Gonzalez and Tony Pasek (using paints donated by Fine Paints of Europe), and expertly installed by volunteers Hobie Statzer, Robert Holland and Al Smith. The shutters will normally be kept open during most of the spring, summer and fall, and closed for the winter, in part, to help protect our new windows donated by Jeld-Wen in 2006/07.
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“Legacy of the Light” DVD Documentary
Be among the first to own a 12-minute documentary about the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse! Learn about the history of the lighthouse, its style of construction, its keepers, and its preservation, and hear the words of some of the keepers come to life! Please click here for more information on how to purchase the DVD!
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