Brigantine Lighthouse, located in the center of Brigantine, New Jersey, was built by the Island Development Real Estate Company in 1926. It was a nonfunctioning lighthouse that was built as an advertising tool. Its sole purpose was to attract people to come and buy homes on the island. Shortly after, the Real Estate Company went out of business, and the land the lighthouse stood on became city property. In the 1930s, the lighthouse was converted into Brigantine Police headquarters. (1) Still on location at the Brigantine Historical Museum is the iron jail cell door used by the Brigantine Police Department. In the 1940s Brigantine Lighthouse was converted again and made into a museum and gift shop. As the depression ended a new wave of people came to visit or live in Brigantine. As a result, traffic grew heavy and too dangerous for the Brigantine Lighthouse to remain open. (1) After many years, Brigantine Lighthouse began to deteriorate. Not until 1995 was it refurbished by a group of volunteers. Brigantine Lighthouse has two entrances and three landings. The interior walls are made of lath and plaster and the outside of the lighthouse is concrete and stucco. The floors are wood and the first floor of the lighthouse is presently used as city storage. A wooden spiral staircase leads to the top floor bell tower. (2) The bell tower contains a light that turns 360 degrees, and remains lit at night as a symbol of one of Brigantine islands oldest landmarks.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 11:29:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015