Angeles Juarez and Tom Pickering had been ready in line Saturday at Fort Williams Park for a uncommon alternative to go inside Portland Head Gentle and climb the 85 stairs to see the view from the highest.
The long-lasting lighthouse, one of the vital photographed and visited within the nation, can be open for restricted indoor excursions for simply the in the future. Tickets had been handed out on a first-come, first-served foundation, and guests who arrived later had been instructed no extra inside excursions had been accessible, though they might take within the museum and the unparalleled surroundings on the park. Some checked out different lighthouses close by.
Juarez and Pickering traveled from New Jersey particularly to see Portland Head Gentle. As a result of they arrived at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, they had been amongst about 300 individuals who nabbed tickets to go inside, climb to the highest, and take within the views from 80 ft above the bottom.
“She needed to see this lighthouse. She loves lighthouses,” Pickering mentioned.
Saturday was Maine Open Lighthouse Day, and an estimated 18,000 folks visited the 19 lighthouses throughout the state that opened their doorways to the general public – the state has about 65 lighthouses in all. The Coast Guard companions with the American Lighthouse Basis to supply the annual open home.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd class Michael Rice awaits a brand new group of tourists to the highest of Portland Head Gentle at Fort Williams Park Saturday. Derek Davis/Workers Photographer
“It’s lovely! I find it irresistible. The view is, oh my God!” Juarez mentioned.
Kris Taylor of Cape Elizabeth celebrated her birthday by climbing the lighthouse stairs. “The view is wonderful,” she mentioned.
“This lighthouse is extraordinarily well-liked,” mentioned Peter Poulin of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. “The excursions are free, however we are able to solely convey 12 folks up at a time so there’s no congestion on the stairway, and provides folks sufficient time on the prime to expertise the view,” he mentioned. “We began handing out tickets at 8:45.” By 9:30 a.m., the tickets had been gone.
It takes a couple of minutes to climb the spiral stairs, and ticketholders had been cautioned to carry onto the railing. Whereas ascending, voices echo within the slender stairway.
After climbing to the highest, vacationers had been greeted by Coast Guard Senior Chief Clayton Franklin. The Coast Guard maintains the lights on lighthouses, however most are owned privately or by nonprofit organizations, he mentioned. Portland Head Gentle is owned by the city of Cape Elizabeth.
Individuals take images from the highest of Portland Headlight at Fort Williams Park Saturday. Derek Davis/Workers Photographer
“It’s nice to work together with the general public, to share what we do, and provide a little bit of historical past,” he mentioned. Portland Head Gentle was commissioned by George Washington a long time earlier than Maine grew to become a state.
“This lighthouse was first lit on Jan. 10, 1791, by 16 whale oil lamps,” Franklin mentioned. “It’s enjoyable to inform the story.”
One other story surrounding the lighthouse is the wreck of the Annie C. Maguire, which struck ledge a bit offshore on Christmas Eve 1886. The ship, from Argentina, was headed to Quebec with 18 folks aboard, Poulin mentioned. All 18 had been rescued by lighthouse keeper Joshua Strout, his household and volunteers.
“He fed them … a Christmas meal,” Poulin mentioned.
Whereas lighthouses are now not manned, they continue to be essential to navigation, in response to the Coast Guard.
“Skilled mariners use lighthouses to take their visible bearings,” Franklin mentioned. Usually harbor pilots use lighthouses to double verify the placement that their electronics present. When a lighthouse, “they know their location.”
Lighthouses are additionally a giant draw to vacationers, and Portland Head Gentle is among the many world’s most visited.
On Saturday, tour buses dropped off a whole lot of vacationers. Autos within the car parking zone bore license plates from Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Texas, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine and elsewhere.
Portland Head Gentle at Fort Williams Park on Maine Open Lighthouse Day, however guests took in its magnificence from afar. Derek Davis/Workers Photographer
Portland Head Gentle is among the many tallest lighthouses in Maine, however the tallest is 133-foot Boon Island Lighthouse, which is seen from York Seashore, mentioned Ann-Marie Trapani, affiliate director for the American Lighthouse Basis. Boon Island, nonetheless, was not open to the general public on Saturday.
Those who had been open included some on islands solely accessible by boat – Wooden Island Gentle off Biddeford Pool and Burnt Island Gentle off Southport. Others included South Portland’s Spring Level Ledge, Pemaquid Level and Owls Head lighthouses. Trapani was internet hosting guests at Owls Head, and mentioned the day had been busy.
“Individuals completely find it irresistible,” she mentioned. “Lots of lighthouses aren’t in a position to be open day by day. That is in the future we coordinate with the Maine Workplace of Tourism, the U.S. Coast Guard and our group, the American Lighthouse Basis.”
The objective of the annual, post-Labor Day occasion is to name consideration to the preservation and historic significance of Maine lighthouses, Trapani mentioned, and to permit Mainers to “discover and see their lighthouses.”
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