CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - A group of boaters and history buffs is working to preserve a lighthouse built for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 that remains standing in Lake Michigan.
“The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse has been a beacon to boaters coming to the city of Chicago for 130 years,” said Kurt Lentsch, leader of the group called Friends of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse.
They're working on a campaign to restore the city landmark that was moved to its current location 104 years ago and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
Speaking at a Chicago Maritime Museum meeting earlier this month, he said first they must iron out who owns the lighthouse between the city, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, National Park Service and General Services Administration.
“We live in a city that works, but it works slow, and you have four other organizations that have to work together with that,” Lentsch said.
The city sent a restoration team to review the site several years ago that found it needs repairs to its roof, plaster walls and railings.
Block Club first reported on the endeavor, which is estimated to cost between $3 and 5 million.
Lentsch opposes an idea floated a few years ago about turning the lighthouse into a luxury hotel.
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