Story first appeared on USAToday.com.
If the St. Joseph Lighthouse could talk, it would probably say, "I'm ready for my close up," or, "If you want to talk to me, call my people."
Daunting photos of the ice-encrusted structure on Lake Michigan and the pier attached to it have gone viral around the world during these last couple of days of polar vortex-dom, as social media users offer their contacts examples of just how fierce weather can be. Some might say that photos of the lighthouse with gigantic masses of ice appearing to drip from it have become the symbolic face of this week's frigid weather.
The photos of the structure in the resort town of St. Joseph, Mich., about 90 miles northeast of Chicago, have gone so viral that they have spun off confusion. People have claimed on social media to have taken photos of the decommissioned lighthouse that they did not take. Three news organizations have published stories on photographers that they present as the artist whose photos have gone the most viral. And as it turns out, what might be the most shared photo was actually taken about a year ago.
"That one was taken Jan. 23 of 2013," says photographer John McCormick, 51, of Vestaburg, Mich., who shot the now-famous picture. "That's the most viral I've had an image go, for sure."
The retired auto supplier worker who lives about 120 miles from the lighthouse says he has not been out to photograph the structure since the polar vortex rolled in because it has just been way too cold. "My camera probably wouldn't even function," he said.
But normally, he enjoys running out to the lighthouse in the winter. In order to take the photo of the lighthouse that has gone viral, he had to stand on a mound of ice jutting out into Lake Michigan about 300 or 400 feet from actual land.
"I love being out in that kind of weather," he says.
McCormick was tickled when he got a telephone call from his son a couple of days ago, saying that his photo of the lighthouse was circulating via Reddit and other sites. Mashable published a story pointing out the often-shared photo was taken last January, and Buzzfeed published a story, too. CNN called to ask questions, McCormick said.
The attention turned out to be a good thing for McCormick, who also takes photos for the state of Michigan that are used on billboards. His website, www.MichiganNutPhotography.com, has gotten an additional 40,000 hits over the last couple of days and the number of "Likes" on his Facebook page are up about 1,700 to almost 20,000.
McCormick, however, isn't the only photographer whose winter images of the lighthouse are being shared during the cold snap. The Kalamazoo Gazette and its website, www.Mlive.com, published a story touting the arresting photos of Thomas Zakowski of South Bend, Ind., who has been taking pictures since high school.
The Herald-Palladium out of St. Joseph published a piece mentioning not only McCormick and Zakowski, but also Chicago-based photographer Tom Gill, who also has shot the lighthouse. The photos of the structure are being shared as far as the U.K., Italy and China, according to the news organization.
There have been various versions of the St. Joseph Lighthouse, but the one drawing people's attention in recent days was built in 1846. The catwalk today is used by walkers, runners and bikers, according to the stjoelighthouse.com website.
Something about that particular lighthouse in winter just seems to touch people, McCormick said.
"It looks like so many different things," he said. "It might resemble something people see on a video game, a Buddha or an ice monster. It's just really unique."
Showing posts with label Lighthouses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lighthouses. Show all posts
10 January 2014
12 July 2010
Lighthouses for Sale
The Detroit Free Press
For sale: historic waterfront property with unusual winding staircase and a great view of Lake Michigan or Lake Huron. May need work.
The public may get a chance to buy a Michigan lighthouse if no government or nonprofit organization steps forward to preserve three that the U.S. Coast Guard no longer needs:
The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse; the Middle Island Lighthouse, across Thunder Bay from Alpena, and the South Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse.
Eight others are for sale across the country.
The first crack at owning one will go to communities, museums or nonprofit groups with a commitment -- and the means -- to maintain them.
But if no suitable local group is found, the lighthouse will go up for auction, possibly by spring. What could it be sold for? The Granite Island Lighthouse in Lake Superior sold for $86,000 in 1999.
"These lighthouses are still an important part of our heritage," said Jennifer Radcliff, president of the Michigan Lighthouse Fund. "These lighthouses will tell us to remember that the lakes are still an important part of our economy."
Owners will need cash, dedication
Lighthouses were once a sailor's only assurance against disaster, their lights guiding many a Great Lakes ship home safely from the strongest storms.
Michigan's most famous wreck, the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, may have been helped to its watery grave because the Whitefish Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior was blacked out by a power failure.
With GPS and modern navigation, lighthouses are no longer needed to guide ships. Their value now lies in the role they played shaping maritime history, and in their significance as a historic symbol of their community.
"They draw tourism and economic development to the community, so they have a broader importance than just being historic monuments," said Martha MacFarlane Faes, Michigan Lighthouse project manager with the State Historic Preservation Office.
Eleven lighthouses were just made available to communities or the public through the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, which allows lighthouses to be transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to new parties with the means and commitment to maintain them.
Preference is given to public bodies and nonprofit groups and these organizations have to maintain them for educational, park, recreation, cultural or historic preservation uses.
The latest round of excess lighthouses includes 11 around the country, three of them in Michigan: The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse, the Middle Island Lighthouse, across Thunder Bay from Alpena, and the South Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse.
Lighthouses can come in all shapes and sizes, but these three are all more traditional looking towers.
"I knew this day was coming," said Josh Mills, Frankfort's city superintendent. "Obviously, this structure means a lot to this community. It's a signature structure in our community and we'll do whatever is necessary to keep it."
Mills already has talked to the Friends of the Point Betsie Lighthouse, near Frankfort, about taking the breakwater lighthouse under their wings, but hadn't pressed for a commitment. He will now.
Lighthouse ownership is not an inexpensive proposition. The Frankfort lighthouse needs about $1 million in upgrades to make it a top-notch city attraction, Mills estimated, including restoring a catwalk on the breakwater, out to the lighthouse. The Point Betsie Light preservation group has so far raised $1 million for that structure's maintenance.
Grants are available for nonprofit and government-run lighthouses.
In Michigan, profits from special lighthouse license plates go to provide $40,000 grants to these groups for lighthouse preservation, as long as they have $20,000 to match the grant. So far, the state has awarded $1.5 million of these grants since 2000.
Privately owned lighthouses don't fare as well when it comes to grants.
The Granite Island Lighthouse in Lake Superior was the last privately purchased Michigan lighthouse, bought in 1999 for $86,000. The new owners won't say how much they spent to restore the lighthouse, only that it was well into six figures.
They not only had to repair a gaping hole in the roof and plenty of ruined plaster and woodwork, they also had to convince workers to live on the island in tents while the restoration was in process.
The public may get a chance to buy a Michigan lighthouse if no government or nonprofit organization steps forward to preserve three that the U.S. Coast Guard no longer needs:
The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse; the Middle Island Lighthouse, across Thunder Bay from Alpena, and the South Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse.
Eight others are for sale across the country.
The first crack at owning one will go to communities, museums or nonprofit groups with a commitment -- and the means -- to maintain them.
But if no suitable local group is found, the lighthouse will go up for auction, possibly by spring. What could it be sold for? The Granite Island Lighthouse in Lake Superior sold for $86,000 in 1999.
"These lighthouses are still an important part of our heritage," said Jennifer Radcliff, president of the Michigan Lighthouse Fund. "These lighthouses will tell us to remember that the lakes are still an important part of our economy."
Owners will need cash, dedication
Lighthouses were once a sailor's only assurance against disaster, their lights guiding many a Great Lakes ship home safely from the strongest storms.
Michigan's most famous wreck, the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, may have been helped to its watery grave because the Whitefish Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior was blacked out by a power failure.
With GPS and modern navigation, lighthouses are no longer needed to guide ships. Their value now lies in the role they played shaping maritime history, and in their significance as a historic symbol of their community.
"They draw tourism and economic development to the community, so they have a broader importance than just being historic monuments," said Martha MacFarlane Faes, Michigan Lighthouse project manager with the State Historic Preservation Office.
Eleven lighthouses were just made available to communities or the public through the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, which allows lighthouses to be transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to new parties with the means and commitment to maintain them.
Preference is given to public bodies and nonprofit groups and these organizations have to maintain them for educational, park, recreation, cultural or historic preservation uses.
The latest round of excess lighthouses includes 11 around the country, three of them in Michigan: The Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse, the Middle Island Lighthouse, across Thunder Bay from Alpena, and the South Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse.
Lighthouses can come in all shapes and sizes, but these three are all more traditional looking towers.
"I knew this day was coming," said Josh Mills, Frankfort's city superintendent. "Obviously, this structure means a lot to this community. It's a signature structure in our community and we'll do whatever is necessary to keep it."
Mills already has talked to the Friends of the Point Betsie Lighthouse, near Frankfort, about taking the breakwater lighthouse under their wings, but hadn't pressed for a commitment. He will now.
Lighthouse ownership is not an inexpensive proposition. The Frankfort lighthouse needs about $1 million in upgrades to make it a top-notch city attraction, Mills estimated, including restoring a catwalk on the breakwater, out to the lighthouse. The Point Betsie Light preservation group has so far raised $1 million for that structure's maintenance.
Grants are available for nonprofit and government-run lighthouses.
In Michigan, profits from special lighthouse license plates go to provide $40,000 grants to these groups for lighthouse preservation, as long as they have $20,000 to match the grant. So far, the state has awarded $1.5 million of these grants since 2000.
Privately owned lighthouses don't fare as well when it comes to grants.
The Granite Island Lighthouse in Lake Superior was the last privately purchased Michigan lighthouse, bought in 1999 for $86,000. The new owners won't say how much they spent to restore the lighthouse, only that it was well into six figures.
They not only had to repair a gaping hole in the roof and plenty of ruined plaster and woodwork, they also had to convince workers to live on the island in tents while the restoration was in process.
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