PI Lighthouse Fresnel lens comes down for repair

How many U.S. Coast Guard members does it take to take down a light bulb? That may be how a joke might begin, but in reality, it took a crew of about 14 U.S. Coast Guard members, to carefully disassemble, crate, and remove the parts to the historic 133-year-old Fresnel lens from the New Presque Isle Lighthouse. There has been an ongoing battle between the Coast Guard and PI Township over the removal of the lens. The township had great concerns the lens would be removed and taken out of Presque Isle County and not returned.

Some of that issue has been resolved and both parties agree that the lens did need to be removed for repairs and renovation. According to Coast Guard Chief technician St. Martin, out of St. Ignace, it would take the better part of a week to carefully remove the lens parts. The first to come down out of the tower were two 1000-watt bulbs that powered the light. ?We?ll transfer the Fresnel lens directly to PI Township,? St. Martin said. ?They?ll retain possession while the U.S. Coast Guard retains ownership.?

Cliff Taylor, the chairman of the lens committee for PI Township said, ?It will remain in the custody of PI Township at an undisclosed location for restoration and repair.?

FOLLOWING the repairs, the lens will be returned to the lighthouse commons or building. The disagreement between the Coast Guard and township is whether the Fresnel lens should be returned to the top of the tower. The Coast Guard says no and township would like it put back in the tower. ?They (the Coast Guard) don?t really have the funds to retain the lens the way it should be done,? Taylor said. ?We both agree it?s in bad repair right now, and we both want the lens repaired.? ?We will dismantle (the lens), stabilize it, and turn it over to the township?s custody…then we?ll put up a newer optic in its place: a Vega III rotating beacon light with a 35-watt lamp,? St. Martin said.

?We intend to make the proper repairs,? Taylor added. ?Our position is that of most preservationists, and that is that the heart of the lighthouse is the lens — if you pull that out and put it somewhere else, it diminishes the value of the lighthouse.?

ACCORDING TO Taylor 15,000 people climb the lighthouse yearly to see the view and the Fresnel lens. It has been operating continuously for 133 years and is the big attraction. Taylor said most of the lenses that have been restored in California have been returned to their towers and have modern optics operating on the outside of the building for lighting, so people can visit the lenses in their original locations. ?The Coast Guard is coming from the maintenance and operation of an aid to navigation point of view…and that?s where their focus should be,? Taylor said. ?We?re trying to work it out.?

Taylor said that although the Coast Guard would retain ownership, the township will get the Fresnel lens as a museum loan artifact. ?We?ve insured the lens for $350,000 on a township insurance policy,? Taylor said. ?Once it?s delivered to us, we?ll sign off on it and it?ll become a loan. As long as conditions are met, it?s usually just a formality to renew it periodically.?

Lt. j.g. Ron Kooper, Public Affairs Officer, out of Sault Ste. Marie, gave a different view entirely as to the final outcome, saying the decision had already been made regarding the return of the lens to the tower.

?COAST GUARD policy is very clear on the issue of returning the lens to the tower,? Kooper said. ?The National Council and Society of Preservation had already sided with the Coast Guard on that. It?s just not a practice the Coast Guard does.? Kooper went on to say the Fresnel lens really could not be restored to a level to make it operational. ?It?s a neat idea to have the lens there cosmetically, but it?s not feasible…the issue has been decided,? Kooper added.

Kooper also said the Coast Guard has a proud history and interest in lighthouses and wants to make sure the lens does not deteriorate any further. ?The best way to do that, unfortunately, is to have it non-operational. It will stay right here on the property at Presque Isle, as requested — but it just won?t be up in the tower,? Kooper said. Kooper cited the fact that the proper humidity cannot be maintained, people touching it was another concern, and actually more people would be able to view it if it were housed on a main floor and not in the tower. ?Not everybody can climb a tower that high,? Kooper said.

ACCORDING TO Taylor, ?We think the final decision will be made in Congress. That?s what happened in Maine, where they got their lens returned to their lighthouse tower, and there have been several cases in California that also have been favorably decided by legislative action, rather than by Coast Guard policy.? Somewhere down the road, the issue will come to a resolution, and all will have to live with whatever that ultimate decision is.