New Canal Lighthouse a Beacon for the Future

JoAnn Burke, Education Director for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s (LPBF) New Canal Lighthouse Museum and Education Center, said it is also her hope that the educational component of the site will continue to attract national attention to both LPBF’s ongoing mission of coastal restoration and to the significance of Louisiana’s seafood industry to the rest of the country. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

By Ashton Daigle/Newsroom Ink for Louisiana Seafood News

Like the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes, the New Canal Lighthouse has risen from the destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

Like the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes, the New Canal Lighthouse has risen from the destruction of hurricanes Katrina and Rita to once again serve as a beacon of hope and perseverance for generations to come.

JoAnn Burke, Education Director for the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation‘s (LPBF) New Canal Lighthouse Museum and Education Center, said it is also her hope that the educational component of the site will continue to attract national attention to both LPBF’s ongoing mission of coastal restoration and to the significance of Louisiana’s seafood industry to the rest of the country.

“We really cannot stress the importance of both of these issues,” Burke said. “They both practically go hand in hand. We are a major port city and coastal restoration is vital not only to us, but to other parts of the country. The lighthouse and museum will hopefully not only restore an iconic piece of local history, but also educate.”

Trip Down Memory Lane: Lighthouse History

The original New Canal Lighthouse, which was little more than a cypress tower with a lantern on top, was built in 1839 where the mouth of the New Basin Canal emptied into Lake Pontchartrain. The New Basin Canal was a major artery that ran from the lake, along what is now West End Boulevard, to just north of the modern day location of the Superdome.

The New Canal Lighthouse in 1947. Photo: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Archives

A second lighthouse, which was a sturdier square wood dwelling which rested on iron screw piles, was constructed in 1855. However, when Southern Yacht Club relocated to New Orleans from Biloxi, the structure was so large it eclipsed and blocked out the light from the lighthouse. As a result, a new two-story building which rose 16 feet higher than its prior incarnation was constructed in 1890.

The United States Coast Guard occupied the lighthouse from the 1960’s until 2001, when it moved its operations center to Bucktown. It was at that time, said Burke, that the LPBF began actively pursuing ownership of the lighthouse. Prior to Katrina, LPBF participated in the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Program, with the intent of turning the lighthouse into an education center.

In 2006 hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on the lighthouse. Photo: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Archives

In 2006, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on the lighthouse, the LPBF was granted a five-year lease by the Coast Guard. At this point, Burke explained, deconstruction of the old lighthouse began and what parts and materials that could be used later, were placed into safe storage.

“That’s one of the things we’re really proud of with this new lighthouse and museum, there is a lot of the old mixed in with the new,” Burke said. “For example, the floor inside the museum is made from some of the wood from the 1890 lighthouse. Cypress beams were used for the window and door cases. Also, the shutters were restored from the 1890 lighthouse wood.”

Outpouring of Support

John Kinabrew, a lighthouse volunteer, rings a bell donated by the U.S. Coast Gaurd. The bell was used on the lighthouse site when it was operated by the Coast Guard as a search and rescue basefrom the 1960’s till it closed in 2000. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

LPBF initiated fund raising campaigns to repair the site’s communications building, which now serves as the education center. Shell Oil also donated funds to repair the communications building. Fundraising efforts continued to grow and eventually, well-known architectural firm HMS was brought on board to draw up plans for a new lighthouse structure that would match the exact dimensions of the original lighthouse.

In 2011, the Coast Guard decided it had no remaining interest in the lighthouse property and, in early 2012, the LPBF signed another five year lease, this time with the Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority. Construction then began in earnest.

“This has all happened because of the generosity and tremendous support from the community,” Burke said, praising the efforts of state congressional leaders like senators David Vitter and Mary Landrieu and a major contribution by Gayle and Tom Benson.

Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board Assistant Executive Director Kristen McLaren said that a portion of a $2 million grant was put towards the lighthouse project to help spread awareness to the plight of commercial fisheries in the state. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board were also among those who contributed to the cause, according to Burke.

McLaren said the state received the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission grant shortly after Hurricane Katrina as part of its Emergency Disaster Relief Program.

“We were nearing toward the tail end of the grant and we began thinking about how we could use the money to have a lasting and long term impact,” McLaren said.

The lighthouse museum exhibit is an interactive one that describes each of the different types of main fisheries and gives interesting and fun facts about them.

“We’re pleased to partner with the lighthouse and museum,” McLaren said. “The Lake Pontchartrain Basin has treated us all well, so we just wanted to preserve that and help people understand what a big role commercial fisheries here have on both the region and the nation.”

Continuing Mission

The museum and education center serves to further strengthen the LPBF’s mission to restore water quality and coastal preservation to the entire Pontchartrain Basin. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

Burke explained that the museum and education center will serve to further strengthen the LPBF’s mission to restore water quality and coastal preservation to the entire Pontchartrain Basin through scientific research, restoration activities, education and monitoring of regulatory processes.

LPBF was formed in 1989 in response to environmental concerns across the whole basin. Ultimately, the LPBF was successful in bringing an end to decades of shell dredging in Lake Pontchartrain, which had diminished water quality to hazardous levels.

A visitor learns more about Louisiana seafood at the interactive exhibit sponsored by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

“After years of hard work, the Basin Foundation was successful in restoring the lake,” Burke said. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took us off the impaired water bodies list.”

Following the loss of precious wetlands and coast, in the wake of Katrina, LPBF then turned its efforts towards a wider campaign to save the state’s diminishing coastline.

“We’ve already made tremendous strides,” Burke said. “We were instrumental in closing the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, and now we are continuing to garner support for our Multiple Line of Defense Strategy for coastal restoration. With lake restoration efforts we appealed to local audiences. Now, though, we are reaching out to the entire nation, to garner support.”

Future Plans

On a rare visit to the lighthouse light which requires climbing a cramped ladder, Burke explains to visitors that each lighthouse has a unique signal pattern. Photo: Ed Lallo/Newsroom Ink

The New Canal Lighthouse was relit during a special celebration in September of 2012. The Lighthouse and Museum opened to the public this past April.

“However, we still need more help to complete this phase,” Burke said, noting that personalized bricks are available for sale. These bricks will be placed on the site in areas near the fountain plaza. The bricks are available at three different price levels.