Absecon Lighthouse is located at Pacific and Rhode Island avenues in Atlantic City. (Photo provided)
ATLANTIC CITY – The National Park Service awarded a $750,000 America’s Treasures Grant for the exterior and Interior restoration of Absecon Lighthouse.
“This is a huge step forward toward restoring the Absecon Lighthouse,” said Jean Muchanic, executive director of the Inlet Public/Private Association, which leases the lighthouse from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, manages the site as an educational venue and major tourist attraction.
The grant will be used for the interior and exterior restoration of the historic Absecon Lighthouse, which was placed on the National Historic Register in January 1971 as a structure of national importance.
The lighthouse is threatened due to moisture intrusion which is damaging the soundness of the tower’s brick and cast iron construction.
“The Save America’s Treasures program began 25 years ago and continues to enable
communities across the United State to preserve and conserve their nationally significant
historic properties and collections,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “It’s
fitting to celebrate this milestone anniversary through a wide range of projects that help to
pass the full history of America and its people down to future generations.”
The Absecon Lighthouse is New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse and the third tallest masonry
lighthouse in the U.S. Designed by George Meade, who later became a prominent
Union general during the Civil War, Absecon is the prototype for New Jersey’s other two “tall” lighthouses – Cape May and Barnegat Light. The lighthouse consists of a conical exterior brick masonry tower which is attached to an interior brick tower with brick radial walls separated by ventilation cavities.
A total of $25.7 million in Save America’s Treasures grants funded 59 projects. Rutala
Associates, a local planning firm, prepared this and other applications for the Lighthouse
restoration. The lighthouse’s original “first order” Fresnel lens, first lit in 1857, remains in its lantern and, although no longer an official navigation beacon, continues to shine nightly over Atlantic City.
The Absecon Lighthouse represents Atlantic City’s proud heritage as not only one of the nation’s original seashore resorts, but also is a symbol of New Jersey’s and the nation’s
rich maritime history.
Despite previous restorations, Absecon Lighthouse's masonry and iron construction continues to deteriorate. The brick masonry structure has trapped moisture at least three brick wythes deep into the wall at both the top and bottom of the exterior tapered brick tower. This trapped moisture has migrated through the connecting radial walls to the interior brick tower. The result is widespread failure of paint as well as deterioration of brick surfaces. The moisture has resulted in pervasive metal corrosion which threatens the integrity of the tower’s watch and lantern levels.
An engineering study, conducted in 2023, has determined the causes of the moisture and proposes recommendations to halt the deterioration. This study includes recommendations based on a condition assessment, investigative building probes, non-destructive testing and material analysis.
The restoration project will take a series of steps to improve air circulation and allow
the brick to dry out while restoring damaged materials. Based on the 2023 engineering assessment, the project will provide essential ventilation improvements, exterior
brick and mortar repair and restoration and interior brick and metals repair and restoration, which will preserve the original integrity of the lighthouse while allowing it to continue as a
symbol of resilience and preservation in Atlantic City.
For more about the Absecon Lighthouse, contact Executive Director Jean Muchanic at 609-449-1360 or jean@abseconlighthouse.org.
