Another lighthouse on the East Coast needs its stair repaired.

Jupiter Inlet Light closed for stairway repairs
This story is based on an article in the Jupiter Courier of August 25, 2004.
The Jupiter Inlet lighthouse will be closed to climbing until at least November to allow necessary repairs to the stairway. Dooley and Mack, a Sarasota contractor, will be replacing about 50 metal brackets that hold the stairway to the inner wall of the lighthouse.

It's fast becoming a familiar story in the Southeast. The Cape Hatteras Light on North Carolina's Outer Banks was closed for 22 months between 2001 and 2003 after a piece of its stairway fell, and the Hunting Island Light in South Carolina has been closed since May 2003, when a broken step was discovered.

The work needed at Jupiter Inlet is much less extensive. The historical society expects the cost to be between $10,000 and $30,000 and hopes to have the lighthouse reopened by November 1. Until then, the grounds and the base of the lighthouse will remain open from 10 am to 4 pm Saturday through Wednesday.

"People are disappointed," said Michael Zaidman, curator at the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, which leases the lighthouse from the U.S. Coast Guard. "It's one of the few lighthouses left where you can climb to the top. And there is such a beautiful view when you get up there

The lighthouse was recently restored at a cost of $858,000, but that work did not include shoring up the stairway. Officials aren't too surprised about the need for additional restoration. "The stairs were designed to support a few skinny guys carrying up a bucket of oil twice a day," said the Society's Executive Director Jamie Struve. "Now, thousands go up and down those steps every year."

Joyce