Santa and Mrs. Claus came to town with some good news for lighthouse fans at the annual outdoor Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, in North Wildwood, NJ.
Paul DiFilippo, chairman of the lighthouse commission, relayed to the crowd, largest ever to attend the holiday ceremony, the news that a record setting 25,000 visitors toured the 125-year-old lighthouse in 1999. They came from nine foreign nations and 49 states, he said.
It was also announced that a seven-minute video of the lighthouse is being made to show to visitors, from which will be extracted a 30-second commercial for television. The plan is to show the full video at conventions and to offer it to public television. A cameraman filmed part of the video at the tree lighting ceremony at which the Margaret Mace elementary school band performed.
"The lighthouse and its beautiful grounds are the centerpiece of North Wildwood and I am very pleased that so many exciting developments are taking place," said Mayor Aldo Palombo. 'This is all part of the renaissance of North Wildwood and those involved are to be commended for their efforts."
During the past year the lighthouse commission received $180,000 for the renovation of the light tower. Most of the financing came in the sum of a $65,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust Fund and a matching sum from the city of North Wildwood. The lighthouse commission has also applied for a $500,000 grant from the federal government for replacing the roof and windows and is awaiting word on its application to establish the lighthouse as a national historic landmark site.
The video, scripted by Steve Murray, head of the city's parks department, is being made by Media Works, and is expected to be ready for public showing during the winter. The cost between $5,000 and $6,000 is coming from lighthouse funds.
The lighthouse is currently open for tours seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until January 10, except for Christmas and New Year's Day. It will close for 10 days and then will reopen on January 20. Admission for tours is $3 for adults, $1 for children 12 to 18 and free for children under 12. A package price of $5 is available for those wishing to tour the Hereford Inlet and Cape May Point lighthouses.
This story appeared in the
January 2000 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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