The lighthouse is deteriorating badly. Yes, it does look spiffy if you’re cruising by in a boat, but if you look more closely – the way the Town’s engineers are doing – you’ll find severe structural issues:

• The mortar in the granite base is badly washing out
• Spalling of the white painted brick is alarming, wafers of masonry splitting off and raining into the ocean
• Both inside and out, original cast iron elements are corroding, including the lantern itself
• The bridge needs major strengthening for the long haul
• Worst of all, the structural steel girders supporting the interior floors are failing and need to be replaced

To see the restoration needs up close, please watch this short video and learn more about how you can help.

During 2016 the Town of Isle au Haut was fortunate to have a major development grant provided by the State Historic Preservation Office to research these issues and design the most historically accurate measures to fix the problems. Meanwhile, the people of the island have supported fundraising events from talent shows to triathlons, auctions and film series, raising dollars to get the project partially funded. The Friends of the Isle au Haut Lighthouse non-profit organization was formed in 2016 to provide further support to this restoration effort and to the lighthouse.

The Lighthouse renovation project has started!! Follow the project’s progress here.  We need funds still to ensure we can get all of the work done in the summer of 2021. Will you help us to keep the lighthouse shining?  Please click on our “Donate” button to help.