Throwing this one out to all the "keepers" out there.

What do folks think of HL doing a piece of the Chaleston Light on Sullivans Island in South Carolina?

It's not round, it's the last of it's kind and has an elevator(?).

I'd be interested in your opinions.

I like the elavator idea. Ever climbed to the top of a tall lighthouse like Barnegat in New Jersry ? For anyone interested, this is what the Charleston Lighthouse looks like:
http://aristotle.ipl.org/exhibit/light/ATL/Charleston.html

I find the Charleston LH uninteresting and unromantic. Like Texas towers, it's a serious departure from the traditional lighthouses I know and love.

Most likely I'd buy it if HL sculpted it (because it's a U.S. HL), but I'd sure rather see them do one of the hundreds of others not modelled yet.


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Keepin' the flame

I currently live in the Charleston area, and I think the Sullivans Island light is an excellent candidate for a Harbour Lights piece. While its unique triangular design is quite different from more conventional lighthouse designs, I think this feature alone would make for a very striking piece. Also, since the Sullivan's Island light was built to replace the abandoned Morris Island light, the piece would be a perfect complement to the existing Morris Island HL 189/190 set. Check the link below for a photo of the Morris Island light with the Sullivan's light in the background:
http://zuma.lib.utk.edu/lights/charleston.html



[This message has been edited by bmaddux (edited 04-16-99).]

Sorry, don't care for the looks of the "newfangled" light. If HL were to make it I doubt I'd buy it.

I think that the Charleston Lighthouse, with it's uniqueness, would make an interesting addition to the HL collection. Since it replaced Morris Island it could be known as the "present light" (vice the "then-now" or "then-past" pair that HL has already done).

Ron

Before they get to Suillivan's Island, I hope Harbour Lights makes sculptures of the Star Ship Enterprise in 1/25 scale with pewter cast figurines of all the major heros - Kirk, Spock, Uhuru, Scotty, etc.

Trekker John

Although I am really not impressed by the simple designs of the newer lighthouses such as the Charleston light or the Texas tower style lights, I would like to see a representation of these done. I would add them to my collection for one reason.

Whenever someone comes over to the house we always end up talking about the various lights, which are hard to miss as they're the first thing one sees as you come through the door. As I talk and point out various lights it would be a great comparison to show the uniqueness and character of "real lighthouses" to these new practical replacements. I think this graphic comparison would also help recruit new people to become aware of the plight of many neglected lighthouses, and maybe even help solicit funds for restorations. You never know how many latent lighthouse wackos may be out there that only need a visual comparison of then and now, along with a good sales pitch, to bring their unknown interest in lighthouses to the top.

Anyway I say make a HL for the new Charleston light, I would get it and enjoy it's uniqueness.

I'm not sure I'd buy it, but it does look interesting. I wonder how it looks from the water.

If your ship's in trouble or there is really bad weather, I bet it looks like like Heaven, with the light beckoning you home safely.

Saint WackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

I don't really care if HL makes this one or not. I can't even say if I'd buy it or not until I see it. I certainly wouldn't encourage them to make it, personally, but if there is a demand for it, by all means go ahead and make it. Imnsho, If it's got an elevator, it ain't a lighthouse. It's too sterile.



The same could be said for any real AtoN, Paul, but not necessarily so for a model of any AtoN.

I wouldn't want to see HL do "Great Radio Triangulation Antennae of the World," would you? Or how about "Great GPS Receivers of the World?" We can all appreciate the technical advancements and their benefit to mankind. They still fail to capture the imagination the way the old lights do. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries the sea clearly had the upper hand, and the selfless human spirit involved in those early efforts is what trips my trigger. We have not mastered the sea and probably never will. But the human aspects of modern AtoN are a walk in the park (literally, in many cases)compared to what they were in the age of lighthouses.

Consider this scenario: You are on that ship that is in trouble in rough weather near Charleston, and your ship is taking on water fast, within sight of the new lighthouse. You are grateful for the sight of the lighthouse. However you know that you need to shed ballast now or go down before you reach it. Your cargo hold is full of HL LE models of the new Charleston Light (They're being drop-shipped directly from China because Y&A figures that nobody but Charlestonians will buy them.)

Question: Do you jettison them into the Atlantic to lighten the ship so as to have a chance at survival? Or do they have the same value to you (under the circumstances) as the big one on shore?

Rhetorically yours,

-Petrus Ramus [If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around...]

My comment had nothing to do with whether Harbour Lights should make it or not. I simply gave my answer to the question of how it looks from the water. Nothing more!

Saint WackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

Let's see now, Kim did say to make 2 choices. Should Sullivans be #1 and SOl #2 or vice versa?

Ohhhhh.. Noooooo.. not there again! PLEASE!

Well, if no one (including me) wants to resurrect the SOL discussion or the Coquille GLOW discussion and you're tiring of beating up on Charleston light, how would you all like to see HL do a three-legged version of Ambrose light?

http://njlhs.burlco.org/ambrose.htm

With my tongue firmly planted in my cheek,

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Keepin' the flame
[This message has been edited by LamarB (edited 04-20-99).]

>>the selfless human spirit involved in those early efforts is what trips my trigger.<<

I rather think the lives of those who watch and guard our shores today are no less involved or selfless. The purposes of Charleston light and those who tend it are same now as in the age of older 'cuter' lighthouses.

The last lighthouse built to be manned, Charleston would make a great addition to the HL line.

Rgds,
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/im

Right you are, Tim. I never meant to slight the motives or commitment of today's lighthouse keepers, and I'm glad you brought this to my attention to clarify. I just think that the keepers of yesteryear had a tougher go of it and were required to make a more complete commitment of self above all else. Many did just that, and I find their stories inspiring. The setting created ample opportunities for heroics. Thankfully, technology has removed most of those opportunities. But along with those opportunities went much of the inspiration and mystique. Lighthouses to me are symbols of an era. Charleston simply does not belong to that era.

I am very grateful for todays AtoN personnel, and I value highly their commitment and their work, but I don't think it is the same as a tour on, say, the Rock of Ages, Tatoosh Island or Minot's Ledge. Thank God we've progressed to the point where it doesn't need to be! I'm not saying that today's keepers wouldn't do the same if called upon to do so, just that they don't because they aren't. Again, thank God for that.

I hope that my clumsy wrangling with the written word here can convey my intent adequately. To everyone who took my previous post in a way I hadn't intended, please accept my humblest appologies.

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-Art

While we all appreciate the efforts of keepers past and present, lights past and present Mike's original question was: What do we think of HL producing Sullivan's Island? Obviously some would like to see it done and some would not.

Harbour Lights should definitely do Sullivan's Island. I always use my pictures of it as an example of the modern day lighthouse and why we need to preserve all of the exisitng ones.

Even though Sullivan's Island is triangular, it still has its own flare! A beautiful lighthouse - maybe to some - but I'm very sure the people of Charleston would be lost without their light.