Buffalo Lighthouse: Held Hostage By Terrorism?
By Sue Clark on Sep 1, 2007 in Restoration 
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Ongoing efforts to reopen Buffalo (New York) Lighthouse and turn the waterfront acreage it sits on into a recreational park have been given a jumpstart by Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton and Rep. Brian Higgins. The lighthouse is owned by the Coast Guard, but is leased to the Buffalo Lighthouse Association who have spent over $300,000 restoring it in 1985. The city of Buffalo installed a $100,000 brick walkway. The light and surrounding 31 acres has been closed to the public since 9/11, due to the adjacent Coast Guard facility, which is being used mostly for storage and maintenance sheds, with a few temporary offices and sleeping quarters.
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Higgins would turn over 20 acres of the site to public use. Sen. Clinton’s bill in the Senate would similarly require the Coast Guard to evaluate consolidating and relocating its Buffalo facilities and to present a proposal within a year. The Coast Guard is amenable to the change, stating that the site is larger than they need. And of course, they’re in the business of getting out of the lighthouse business at an alarming rate.
Buffalo Lighthouse saw over 20,000 visitors during the years it was open (1985-2001), and a mere 50 per year since it was closed. The light is not an active aid to navigation, but does have a symbolic low-level light in the tower. The lighthouse was known locally as “Chinaman’s Light,” and is one of the two oldest existing towers in Lake Erie. It was seen as a towering welcome for immigrants moving to the nation’s heartland.
At night, the lighthouse is highlighted by lighting technology developed for the Statue of Liberty restoration celebration. Let’s hope the light shines on the city of Buffalo and the Buffalo Lighthouse Association in their efforts to reopen this site to the public.
The Buffalo News also has an editorial calling for an end to the restrictions.
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September 2nd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
That’s a good point on not completely relying on spell check since it will give a thumbs up to properly spelled words that are being used in the wrong context (my favorite examples are there, their and they’re).