Lighthouse

Sea Isle City lighthouse might be on the move
Press of Atlantic Press
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, June 15, 2006
Updated: Thursday, June 15, 2006

SEA ISLE CITY — To survive, the city's almost forgotten lighthouse may take a journey on a sandy road it has been down before: It will have to move.

The Friends of the Ludlum Beach Lighthouse have asked the city to find them a place to temporarily store the 1885 lighthouse, which literally lost its light in 1924 and has been a residence since.

City officials said they are helping find a spot for a possible move.

But moving is what the old lighthouse is good at: It was moved twice in the 20th century.

The house's owner planned to demolish the building at 3414 Landis Ave. to make room for more modern accommodations, but said he will donate it if someone
will transplant it.

Bob Uhrmann, founder of the Friends, said the group is looking for possible lots to store the building.

But the lighthouse more resembles an old-fashioned shore rental than picturesque lighthouse images on postal stamps and framed paintings.

Charles Adams, a Philadelphia schoolteacher who owned the residence since 1993, said the building no longer looks like a lighthouse. He wants to build a rental on the half-million dollar land that currently brings in a fraction of what it could.

Adams said he would be willing to donate the building if the group will have it moved, preferably within a year, he said.

“The city is seeing it as something they recognize it's something they don't want in a landfill now. They see a need for it for the health of the city and the community and the tourists,” Adams said.

Uhrmann said the lighthouse needs a temporary home to get it out of Adams' way. They can convert it into a museum while searching for a permanent location and seeking grant funds to restore it.

City Commissioner Angela Dalrymple was appointed as liaison to the lighthouse group.

“The city hasn't really signed off on what they're going to do, but certainly it's a step in the right direction,” Uhrmann said.

In 1924, the Ludlum Beach Lighthouse was stripped of its Fresnel Lens, sold to the highest bidder, moved off the beach and converted into a private residence.

In 1924, a local newspaper — acknowledging the lighthouse's apparent demise — recognized it as one of the oldest buildings on the island.

The lighthouse was built in 1885 as a guide for mariners upon the requests of city founder Charles K. Landis, according to documents at the city's Historical Museum.

Eighteen years before its construction, a French ship carrying 150 passengers wrecked in a storm and killed three people, according to a letter written by historian Jim Trainor, citing an old Philadelphia Ledger newspaper. Another wreck unloaded a cargo of citrus fruits and nuts, which washed up in bushels on the beach.

The former lighthouse was never really forgotten, but few knew about it. Each year, some lighthouse buffs visit the residence and snap photos. Last weekend, visitors stopped by from San Diego, Adams said.

Phillip W. Bur III, a historian from Pennsylvania, wrote an account of the lighthouse in 1999.

Uhrmann has seen the lighthouse's abiding presence in Sea Isle City as fate.

The lighthouse was moved twice since 1924. If it were in its original oceanfront location on 31st Street during the March 1962 storm, it may have been lost, he has said.

Lighthouses play a unique role in New Jersey's history, said Yvonne Miller, first vice president of the New Jersey Lighthouse Society.

“Our children will never ever see these used again because of the electronics used in shipping today. Europe saves its castles, we want to save our lighthouses,” Miller said.

“People travel the world to see lighthouses and photograph them.”

Uhrmann said the group's goal is to move the building and then open it as a museum while it seeks grants and funding. Eventually, the group would like to reaffix the tower and light to make it resemble its previous self.

“I think Sea Isle is starving for its history, and this is part of it. All we need to do is find a suitable location. In my point of view, the expense is not as much as the heritage it's going to leave for the children,” City Commissioner James Iannone said. “I've watched a lot of old properties go down with a lot of character, and Sea Isle really needs some local point in terms of its history. We really have a flavorful, colorful history, and to preserve it is important.”

Whether the city plans to contribute any money to the efforts — or even how much the whole thing may cost — is another story.

Iannone said, “It's obviously going to cost the city some money. That on top of grants or matching funds from preservations groups.

Mayor Leonard Desiderio said, “we'll lend any assistance we can, but we're not going to be putting any money into this.”

Uhrmann said there was no way to know how much it would cost — or how long it would take — to move it, fund it, repair it and restore it.

It could take a decade or two, he said

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com