GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Thousands of people walk the Grand Haven pier each day. In fact, over one million people visit Grand Haven State Park each year and many of them venture on to the pier for a relaxing walk. West Michigan Stories got unprecedented access to the outer lighthouse to see what was inside.
During the month of July and at least part of August, the inner lighthouse on the pier is under going refurbishment. Painting and sandblasting mainly, with some other things going on behind the scenes. That said, we turned our attention to the outer lighthouse (some call it the fog house).
The pier itself is interesting in that several organizations have their hand in the pie of responsibility. For example, the actual structure is owned and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Coast Guard is responsible for maintaining the navigational lights, while the city maintains the inner and outer non navigational lights. Finally, the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy maintains both the inner and outer lighthouses.
The Conservancy had a “buy a brick” fundraising event to help generate funds to refurbish the lighthouses. Phase one will cost about $295,000, and more than 1300 bricks were sold at $100 each. Total monies raised thus far include over a half million dollars.
When the steel door was opened on the outer lighthouse, people immediately started to gather hoping for a glance inside. The inside was dark, mainly concrete, and reminded me of a basement or dungeon. Old glass portholes were covered, but nonetheless, it was both interesting and fun to be inside the building I’ve passed a hundred times over the years.
The second level was much like the first except with more wood visible. The building once housed the machinery necessary to power the lights and fog signal back in the old days. The third floor was all wood and was reminiscent of an old dilapidated house. In fact, the lighthouse attendants once lived there and manned the structure until automation occurred in the mid 1980s.
I was able to sneak through a small hatch that led up to the light tower where the actual beacon is located. Not much room, plenty of spiders, but a great view of the pier and the lake from that high up.
While renovations, refurbishing, and general maintenance on these building will continue, the hope is that someday in the not-to-distant future the public will also have the same opportunity to browse through this historic building. Plans are in the works to completely restore the portholes for ventilation purposes, and completely redo the inside. The thought is over the next three to five years the completed project will allow patrons and pier walkers to saunter through the lighhouse(s) as well.
Donations are always welcome to help with the up keep. You can get more information on the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy here. Find their Facebook page here.
Grand Haven history and information can be found here. Click herefor the city of Grand Haven website. Find more lighthouse history here.
