Restoration of Split Rock Lighthouse
This spring, the famous lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior will be enclosed in a shell of scaffolding, plastic and netting while the 98-year old structure undergoes cosmetic work and restoration.
As part of a bonding allocation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the 2006 state legislature, the lighthouse will receive a new coat of black paint to the inside and outside of the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse. To prepare the cast iron lantern for painting dry ice blasting will be used to remove the old peeling paint. As part of the restoration the twenty-seven curved glass windows, called storm panes, will be removed, resealed and replaced to stop leaking during Lake Superior’s worst storms. Other buildings at the famous light station will also received attention including the three brick lighthouse keeper’s houses, the fog signal building, and two wooden storage barns, all built in 1909.
Completion of the construction project is scheduled for mid-July, 2008, but the lighthouse portion of the project will be completed in time for the site’s opening on May 15. This spring visitors to the site will be treated to the unusual sight of seeing the well-known lighthouse on the cliff shrouded in scaffolding and plastic.
Until May 15 the historic site’s visitor center is open Thursdays through Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the light station grounds are open during the day. On May 15 the historic site will reopen for the season with its daily interpretive programs. At that time the lighthouse, the restored light keeper’s home and the fog signal will reopen to the public.
