Bay lighthouse being restored, will open for tours

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ANNAPOLIS -- On a clear bright day for sailing, the foghorn at the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay is silent.

But mariners who sail close enough can hear an unusual sound: the banging of hammers.

Restoration efforts continue on the 1875 Maryland landmark. Tourists could be making trips as soon as next month for the first time in the history of the lighthouse, which has been a beacon to mark shallow shoal for fishermen and recreational boaters.

"The goal is to restore it to how it looked in the early 1900s, 1901 through 1908, roughly," said Henry Gonzalez, vice president of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. "We have some good documentation from those years."

Maritime history buffs will be thrilled to take a boat ride to this Bay icon, which stands 43 feet above the water and is the only screw-pile lighthouse remaining in its original location in the Bay.

As sailboats cruise the area, visitors will be able to use a new dock to gain access to the lighthouse and climb a narrow ladder on their way to the first floor of the building, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1999.

Inside, the hexagonal wooden structure has new windows and two new fiberglass doors, which were donated by Jeld-Wen, an Oregon-based window and door manufacturer. When the window portion is completed, a total of eight that had been broken and boarded up will be replaced, adding natural light inside.

Fog-detection signal equipment and automation equipment still used by the Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a portion of the lighthouse are being encased in a clear protective panel, so the gear will be on view but safe from prying hands. The lighthouse remains an active weather station and navigational aid.

Visitors also will get to see the old kitchen and bedrooms used by lighthouse keepers. The interior remains in good shape. The old bottomless outhouse juts off one side.

The Coast Guard staffed the lighthouse until 1986, when Thomas Point became the last lighthouse on the Bay to be fully automated.