Cape May Lighthouse

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**Cape May Lighthouse**
Cape May Lighthouse
Location:	Cape May Point, New Jersey
Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS)	38°55′59″N, 74°57′37″W
Foundation:	Surface rock
Construction:	Brick, White tower, red cupola
Year first lit:	1859
Deactivated:	Active
Automated:	1946
Tower shape:	Conical
Height:	157 feet (48 m) (165 ft above sea level)
Original lens:	Fresnel lens
Range:	24 nm (44 km)
Characteristic:	White, Flashes every 15 sec

The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in the town of Cape May Point. It was built in 1859, was automated in 1946, and continues operation to this day. There are 199 steps to the top of the Lighthouse. The view from the top extends to Cape May City and Wildwood to the north, Cape May Point to the south, and, on a clear day, Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to the west.

The lighthouse is owned by the United States Coast Guard, which maintains it as an active aid to maritime navigation. The Coast Guard leases the structure and the grounds (but not the navigation equipment) to the State of New Jersey which, in turn, sub-leases the structure and grounds to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). MAC raises funds for the restoration and upkeep of the structure and allows visitors to climb to the top. On the way, MAC has placed interpretive exhibits about the lighthouse's history, the lives of the former keepers, and other maritime history of the Jersey Cape.

[edit] External links

NPS - Historic light stations
Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts - Cape May lighthouse page
Cape May Lighthouse - from Lighthousefriends.com

[edit] Gallery

The top of the Cape May Lighthouse, on July 4, 2005.	The view from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse, on July 4, 2005.	View of the WWII coastal bunker from the top of the lighthouse	The view from the top of the Cape May Lighthouse
Interior view showing Scottish bond brickwork	The lighthouse seen from the Cape May cove	Cape May lighthouse, fog, bird house	Fog
	Outside brickwork