Claims Fresnel Too Much To Maintain

And yet another Fresnel lens is in danger of being removed from a lighthouse where it has served daily since 1927. Mukilteo Lighthouse in Washington state is potentially the latest victim of an attempt to replace thelens, shown at left, with a more “modern” optic. The Fourth Order Fresnel lens is the tower is the only one in use in the state, and although there is nothing wrong with it, the Coast Guard claims that because it’s getting harder to maintain, it wants to remove it and place it in a museum.

According to the story in the Herald Net, the Coast Guard sent a letter to the city, stating that their primary responsibility is to the mariners, and that due to age, the light has, on occasion, quit revolving. The issue is not with the lens system itself as much as the parts that hold its many panels together and enable it to rotate, according to Commander John Moriarty of the Coast Guard in Seattle.
“The parts are glued with an epoxy, similar to the caulking in a bathtub, and that erodes with time. Eventually, it will need to be repaired, and when that happens, it will be expensive,” Moriarty said.”There’s much more that goes into it than replacing a window in your home and your car,”

Historical Society Protests

Fortunately, the Mulkiteo Historical Society has lodged a protest. “We very strongly want to preserve the lens in place,” wrote John Petroff, president of the historical preservation group, in a letter to the Coast Guard. “If unable to do so, we would consider it a tragic loss.”

Moriarty has stated there’s room for compromise, but it would involve the transfer of the lens to the city or other private organization from the federal government. He acknowledges that it has been done in other parts of the country. But his main concern is the cost of fixing it when the time comes. “There are very few companies in the United States that have the expertise and experience to maintain this historic artifact,” Moriarty wrote.

As we’ve seen, the Coast Guard usually does patch jobs. While a lot is due to funding, staffing and different priorities, if a group is willing to take on the responsibility, there should be a transfer. Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said he would support such an arrangement. The city of Mukilteo owns the lighthouse and the property, and members of the Mukilteo Historical Society are caretakers of the lighthouse and the former keepers’ quarters next to it. Tours are offered from noon to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays, April through September.

Others Have Fought and Won

Historical society members say they know people who could do it. They’ve offered to take over responsibility for the light themselves, unless it’s prohibitively expensive. “There are people we could clearly draw on to do the maintenance,” Historical Society member John Collier said.

A note of encouragement to the Historical Society: There are plenty of people that can repair the mechanism, although the cost is high. You just can’t slap any old putty on it. But I daresay the cost of repairing the mechanism is less than replacing the prisms.

Other lighthouse groups have done the repairs successfully. It may entail removing the lens temporarily, after the transfer is complete, but if ownership is granted to you, it can be put back. The Coast Guard can install a temporary light while the work is being done, if it’s necessary to remove it.

Two lights that come to mind are St. Augustine in Florida, and Seguin Island Lighthouse in Maine. It might even be wise to get your federal lawmakers involved, as they can hurry along the process.

Good luck to you in the fight to keep a rare and precious piece of our history in place and available to everyone for viewing it as it’s meant to be viewed.

Photo Credits: Mukilteo Lighthouse and Lens by ankneyd. Some rights reserved.

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