Cape May NJ
2008

Cape May is a city and seaside resort at the tip of southern New Jersey’s Cape May Peninsula. It’s known for its grand Victorian houses such as the Emlen Physick Estate, now a museum with a preserved interior from the era. Shops and restaurants line the Washington Street Mall, 3 pedestrianized blocks of Washington Street. The Cape May Lighthouse provides views across the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

https://capemaymac.org/

215 LIGHTHOUSE AVE.
Located in Cape May Point State Park

Climb the 199 steps up the original, cast iron spiral stairway to the top of the 1859 Cape May Lighthouse and see a staggering view of the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, the surrounding nature trails of Cape May Point State Park, and Cape May Point Borough. Interpretive panels on the grounds, at the base and on the climb tell stories of Lighthouse Keepers, the surrounding area, and how the lighthouse functioned historically and today. The Cape May Lighthouse is the third beacon at this location. Still an active aid to navigation, it was restored and is maintained by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Since Cape May MAC opened it to the public in 1988, more than 2.5 million visitors have climbed to the top. The Cape May Lighthouse is listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The Lighthouse was staffed by keepers who worked for the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The Cape May Lighthouse generally had one head lighthouse keeper and two assistants. They carried the oil to the top of the tower every day to power the light, and kept the lens apparatus clean and in working order. Keepers’ pay averaged $600 a year around the turn of the 20th century.

There were two houses built right next to the Cape May Lighthouse around 1860 for the lighthouse keepers and their families. One has since burned, but the other is still standing, on the other side of the fence, near the entrance to the tower.

The lighthouse tower is 157 feet 6 inches tall, from the ground line to the ventilator ball on top.

There are 217 steps from the ground to the top, with 199 steps in the tower’s cast iron spiral staircase.

The Cape May Lighthouse was built in 1859, and is the third fully documented lighthouse to be built at Cape May Point. The first was built in 1823; the second in 1847. The exact locations of the first two lighthouses are now underwater due to erosion.

The Lighthouse actually has two separate walls. The outside wall is cone-shaped, and is 3 feet 10 inches thick at the bottom, and 1 foot 6 inches thick at the top. The inside wall is a cylinder with 8.5-inch thick walls which support the spiral staircase. The walls were designed to withstand winds several times above hurricane force.