MUSKEGON, Mich. — Restoration efforts will soon be underway to save one of Muskegon’s most beloved landmarks, the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse.
“Without the lighthouses, which began in 1851, Muskegon would not be Muskegon,” said Muskegon Lights Volunteer Manager Kim Lange.
WATCH: 'It’s just been eroding': Restoration efforts begin this fall to save Muskegon's historic lighthouse
The longstanding lighthouse is at risk of being removed permanently.
As Don Kalisz, Owner of Kindred Marketing explained, the structural integrity of the lighthouse is failing.
“It’s just been eroding and crumbling, literally rusting where it stands,” Kalisz said.
In order to keep the lighthouse from crumbling, construction is kick-starting this September, with plans for phase two to pick up in the spring.
Construction is set to be complete sometime next year, according to Kalisz.
“The total quote is $1.6 million roughly. And thankfully, we have $800,000 already secured through grant funding,” Kalisz said.
It’s up to the community to come up with the remaining $800,000 to restore the lighthouse.
To help raise the funds, Kalisz is leading a Capital Campaign through his agency, Kindred Marketing.
“We want residents to share the need. We want them to share the information, you know, with their neighbors, with their friends on social media, and really to help spread the word that we are raising this money, and certainly financially to contribute, if people are able to,” Kalisz said.
The legacy of Muskegon, if you ask Kim Lange, is its lighthouses, and the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse has been a landmark in the city since 1930.
“These lights belong to all of us,” Lange said. “They are property of a nonprofit, but they belong to us.”
Lange is among those who don’t want to see this lighthouse lost.
“The current lights that are built are the icons of the city, the citizens expect them to continue to thrive,” Lange said.
To donate to the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse, click here.
