Cape May Lighthouse

Template:Short description Template:Infobox lighthouse The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army engineer William F. Raynolds, was automated in 1946, and continues operation to this day.

Cape May Lighthouse is the third fully documented lighthouse to be built at Cape May Point. The first was built in 1823 and the second in 1847.<ref name=NPSMHP/><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The exact locations of the first two lighthouses are now underwater due to erosion. There are 199 steps to the top of the Lighthouse. The view from the top extends to Cape May City and Wildwood to the north, Cape May Point to the south, and, on a clear day, Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to the west. Within immediate view are Cape May Cove and Battery 223, a harbor defense battery originally built during World War II. Cape May Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1973.<ref name="nrhpdoc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} With Template:NRHP url</ref>

The Cape May Light is located in Lower Township, but is also a point of identity for Cape May Point as it uses the lighthouse as a logo for municipal-owned vehicles. Mayors of the two municipalities previously had a conflict over in which municipality it was located.<ref>Degener, Richard. "New Lower Township police cars roll in black and white", The Press of Atlantic City, May 22, 2009. Accessed July 3, 2011. Article info and Image caption – Quote: "The department on Thursday unveiled its new emblem featuring a picture of the Cape May Lighthouse, which is located next to Cape May Point State Park, and, like the park itself, is actually in Lower Township. Mayors in Lower Township Cape May and Cape May Point have sparred in years past over claims to the lighthouse."</ref>

Operation

The lighthouse is owned by the state of New Jersey after ownership was transferred from the Coast Guard in 1992, which maintains it as an active aid to maritime navigation. The State of New Jersey leases the structure and grounds to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC).<ref name=NPSMHP/> MAC raises funds for the restoration and upkeep of the structure and opens the lighthouse to the public for climbs to the top.<ref>"About MAC" Template:Webarchive. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities. Retrieved August 17, 2015.</ref> MAC has installed interpretive exhibits about the lighthouse's history, the lives of the former lighthouse keepers, and other maritime history of the Jersey Cape for visitors who climb. In 2013, MAC celebrated the 25th anniversary of the opening of the lighthouse to the public for climbs. From its opening in May 1988, over 2.1 million people have paid to climb to the top. Every October, the Cape May Lighthouse is a participant in the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge, a statewide event.Template:Citation needed

Design

The tower is Template:Convert tall, from the ground to the tower's cast iron spiral staircase. There are 217 steps from the ground to the top, with 199 steps in the tower's cast iron spiral staircase. The lighthouse has two separate walls. The outside wall is cone-shaped, and is Template:Convert thick at the bottom, and Template:Convert thick at the top. The inside wall is a cylinder with Template:Convert walls which support the spiral staircase. The walls were designed to withstand winds several times above hurricane force.<ref name="MACStructure">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original revolving lens was manufactured by Henry Lepaute in Paris and has a Template:Convert inside diameter.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> This first-order Fresnel lens was moved to the Cape May County Courthouse.<ref name=":0" />

Gallery

• Cape May Lighthouse September 2020 002.jpg

  View from the beach at sunset

• Cape May Lighthouse (Early Evening) in Cape May, New Jersey, USA.jpg

  Cape May Lighthouse (early evening)

• CMLight-top.jpg

  The top of the Cape May Lighthouse on July 4, 2005

• Lighthouseflags.jpg

  The US and NJ flags at Cape May Lighthouse

• Camp May Light.jpg

  The lighthouse seen from the Cape May cove

• Lighthouse4.jpg

  September sunset from Cape May cove

• CMLight-view.jpg

  The view from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse on July 4, 2005

• Cape May Lighthouse from the Delaware Bay.jpg

  View from the Delaware Bay

• Cape May Lighthouse (30892p).jpg

  Lighthouse viewed from Lighthouse Pond

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cape May County, New Jersey

External links

• Cape May Lighthouse – Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities Template:Webarchive
• National Park Service Template:Webarchive – Inventory of Historic Light Stations
• Lighthousefriends.com