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September 13, 2012

Open house: See the light(house)

Open Lighthouse Day offers a great opportunity to get a close-up look at some genuine Maine icons.

From staff reports

Ever wonder what the view is like from the top of your favorite lighthouse? Or what the inside of a 100-year-old keeper's house looks like?

On Saturday, we'll all get a chance to peek inside some prominent symbols of Maine's allure and history during the Fourth Annual Maine Open Lighthouse Day.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (some sites have slightly different hours), 22 lighthouse sites will be open to the public. For many of the lighthouses, it's the only time of the year that people are allowed inside the structures.

Admission to the towers and their accompanying keepers' houses and other buildings is free, but you'll have to pay for access to some state or town parks that house the sites. And for lighthouses located on islands, the transportation is up to you.

The Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland will also be open as part of the festivities.

If you're trying to decide which lighthouse to visit, we've assembled a list of all of them below, along with locations, the year they were built, their height, and interesting tidbits you can use to impress fellow tour-takers while you wait in line.

BROWN'S HEAD LIGHT

LOCATION: Off North Haven Road, Vinalhaven Island

YEAR BUILT: 1832

HEIGHT: 20 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: The keeper's house, built in 1857, and the oil house, built in 1903, are both still standing.

BURNT COAT HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE

LOCATION: Lighthouse Road, Swan's Island

YEAR BUILT: 1872

HEIGHT: 32 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: The first keeper, F.A. Allen, and his wife lived at the lighthouse with their nine children. The light used to have a twin, but one was taken out in 1884 after mariners complained that the twin lights were confusing.

BURNT ISLAND LIGHT STATION

LOCATION: Entrance to Boothbay Harbor (offshore)

YEAR BUILT: 1821

HEIGHT: 30 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: This is the second-oldest lighthouse in Maine that hasn't been rebuilt. (The oldest is Portland Head Light, built in 1791).

CURTIS ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

LOCATION: Curtis Island, Penobscot Bay

YEAR BUILT: 1835

HEIGHT: 25 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: The island is named after publishing magnate and philanthropist Cyrus Curtis, who summered in Camden.

DICE HEAD LIGHT

LOCATION: Battle Avenue, Castine

YEAR BUILT: 1828; rebuilt several times

HEIGHT: 51 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: The lighthouse was sold in the 1930s, but has been restored by the town of Castine, and was re-lighted in 2008.

DOUBLING POINT LIGHT STATION

LOCATION: Doubling Point Road, Arrowsic Island

YEAR BUILT: 1898

HEIGHT: 23 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: In 1999, the tower was lifted off the foundation with a crane, put on a barge and moved into storage while contractors reset the 12,000-pound granite blocks at the base.

FORT POINT LIGHT

LOCATION: Fort Point Road, Stockton Springs

YEAR BUILT: 1857

HEIGHT: 31 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: This squared light tower was named for nearby Fort Pownall, and is attached to the keeper's house by an enclosed passageway.

GRINDLE POINT LIGHT

LOCATION: Ferry Road, Islesboro (ferry from Lincolnville)

YEAR BUILT: 1874

HEIGHT: 39 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: Located on picturesque Gilkey Harbor, the light keeper's house is home to the Sailors' Memorial Museum.

KENNEBEC RIVER RANGE LIGHTS

LOCATION: Doubling Point Road, Arrowsic

YEAR BUILT: 1898

HEIGHT: 13 feet and 21 feet

ILLUMINATING FACT: These are the only pair of "range lights" among Maine's 64 lighthouses, and are among the very few wooden lighthouses in the country. The front light flashes continuously, while the back light shows six quick flashes, then pauses.

(Continued on page 2)

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