Huron's lighthouse set for glowing upgrade

HURON — Let there be more light at the Huron Lighthouse.After speaking with U.S. Coast Guard personnel for almost two years, city officials finally received permission in recent days to cosmetically illuminate the North Main Pier's lighthouse on a permanent basis. The Coast Guard, which maintains the lighthouse, has ultimate authority over its operations.In 2018, on select days, officials tested with turning on white lights around the lighthouse's exterior. It went over "very well" with community members, Huron city manager Andy White said, prompting his colleagues to pursue this endeavor on a full-time basis.Officials committed almost $14,000 to install four LED lights and fasten them around the structure's base. When on, each light shoots up and illuminates all four of the lighthouse's corner sections.People can expect to see the lighthouse glowing on a nightly basis come springtime.They can also insert different lenses to project various colors on special occasions. For instance, officials could project green and gold lights during St. Patrick's Day; red, white and blue lights for the Fourth of July; or orange lights for Halloween.Right now, the coloring process requires someone to manually swap out and change the lenses at the actual lighthouse. Officials, however, could spend about $2,000 for technology to automatically switch light colors from a remote location, such as City Hall."This is a quality-of-life issue, and we thought it was a cool improvement," said White, noting how people can't see the lighthouse when it's dark out unless they're standing on the pier. "The lighthouse is an iconic feature in the city, and this should make it even better."But don't worry boaters: These lights, whether white or some other color, won't interfere with a flashing red beacon, which guides ships navigating across Lake Erie, sitting atop this 72-foot-tall structure.Did you know?After the Huron Lighthouse's light was automated in 1972, the tower's lantern room was removed, and a modern beacon consisting of a solar-powered 375 millimeter lens was installed. Still in use today, the light has a focal plane of 80 feet, can be seen over a 12-mile radius and flashes a red light with a characteristic of three seconds on followed by three seconds off.Source: Lighthousefriends.comReach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.In 2018, on select days, Huron officials tested how white lights illuminating the city's lighthouse would look. Not too long ago, officials received permission from the U.S. Coast Guard to permanently illuminate the structure with white lights and possibly in varying color schemes or patterns.