LIGHTSTATION IS OPEN 9AM - 5PM, Monday to Saturday. CLOSED on Sunday.
LET IT SHINE!
Restoring our beacon of HOPE for our community.
HOURS
The Lighthouse is
OPEN
9 AM - 5 PM
Monday - Saturday
CLOSED SUNDAY.
When you visit the Lightstation, please know your generous purchases directly help us to Keep the Light On!
Our Gift Shoppe at the lightstation grounds is run by volunteers and is mostly open mornings.
TOWN-SIDE
GIFT SHOPPE HOURS
Front Street location is
OPEN
10 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday - Saturday
CLOSED SUNDAY.
(242) 699-4000.
We have an array of logo wear and collectibles at the town-side gift shoppe. This is major mechanism for funding our restoration work.
OUR STORY
Elbow Cay has a shining beacon of its historical past in the last active kerosene burning and manned by keeper lightstation in The Bahamas with historical (8) outbuildings (circa 1863) and an original working lighttower.
Lighthouses worldwide have removed their original historic ‘manual’ parts in favor of the efficiency of electricity; removing vital technology that made them authentic.
The Elbow Reef Lighthouse remains the only active and manned lightstation in the world that has not been electrified; the lens is hand-wound by a keeper and fueled by kerosene.
U.S. Embassy Nassau
PLAY VIDEO (left) introducing the August 2022 to July 2023 restoration project with aid from the U.S. Embassy Nassau.
The lighthouse received a paint job!
See our blog on the AFCP Grant page to follow our progress!
RECOVERY, RESTORATION & PRESERVATION
We are passionate about our years of preservation work because the Abaco community relies on the lightstation as would any city which cherishes its national monument. It is our ‘Eiffel Tower’ or our ‘Big Ben’, it creates a sense of place, ties to our heritage, and sets us apart from any destination on the planet.
Stripping
& Repainting Project
Selvin Majano of Onyx Blasting and Coating, adding a second coat of mineral silicate paint. December 15, 2022.
Metalworks
& Outbuildings
Jackson Blatch, restoration foreman completing the painting after making structural repairs to the Canopy at the top of the lighthouse.
Our Hardworking Crew
Most of the work in any project is spent in the preparation! At the beginning of a new project, one cannot imagine how much time has gone into strategizing and then mobilizing all of the equipment necessary for the massive stripping and repainting job on the lighthouse.
Crew photo by Annie Potts
ERLS Crew Spotlight
Patience and attention to detail is a large part of the job..
ERLS restoration crew member, Traeshoun Swain after many days of work stripping off the paint from the lighthouse entry door.
Notice the big reveal of the bricks which will not be painted over.