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The Hope Light Foundation is proud to recognize the 10-year anniversary of the Metropolis Lighthouse “Hope Light” that is the world’s only lighthouse designed, built and dedicated to the fight against cancer. The lighthouse is located on the bank of the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois at the entrance to the beautiful and relaxing Dorothy Miller Park. The 30-foot-high lighthouse was erected at the site on June 4, 2014 and officially dedicated to the fight against cancer in a ceremony at the lighthouse on November 5, 2014. Since then, the lighthouse has become an official Illinois State Attraction, a “Beacon of Hope” for cancer patients and survivors and a memorial of the lives lost to cancer as can be seen by more than 600 personalized bricks in the walkway surrounding the lighthouse.
The characteristics of the lighthouse is its conical shaped white tower and its teal daymark band below a black lantern room with a flashing white light marine beacon. The white tower symbolizes the fight against lung cancer that is the most-deadliest cancer among both males and females and the teal daymark band symbolizes the fight against ovarian cancer that is the deadliest gynecologic cancer. The black lantern room symbolizes a cancer patients dark journey following a cancer diagnosis with the flashing white light symbolizing “Hope” for survivorship and a cure. The lighthouse is the flagship of The Hope Light Foundation and a symbol of hope for all people in their fight against all cancers.
Thanks to the national/international publicity of the lighthouse from articles published in the Lighthouse Digest magazine and being a member of the United States Lighthouse Society’s Passport Program, it has become a popular attraction for many lighthouse enthusiasts and others interested in its symbolic mission to navigate people to cancer signs and symptoms published in the Foundation’s website at www.hopelightproject.com.
“Although construction of the lighthouse was a dream of Beverly and I for years, it would not have been possible without the many donors of time, money and materials including the pro-bono design by Eggemeyer Associates Architects of Herrin, Illinois, the real estate provided by the City of Metropolis and significant grants from the George A. Bates Memorial Foundation and the Metropolis Area Tourism Commission,” said Rudy Bess, Founding Director of The Hope Light Foundation.
The lighthouse project began with the Metropolis City Council approval in 2005 when then Mayor Billy McDaniel appointed Alderman Bill Carrell to lead the Metropolis Hope Light Project who later became the official Lighthouse Keeper.
The Metropolis Hope Light Project is a D.B.A. of The Hope Light Foundation that is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity with all donations being tax deductible.
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2025 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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