'You can see that thing from everywhere': Port Washington li...

'You can see that thing from everywhere': Port Washington lighthouse now 'glossy and bright'

A $2.6 million restoration project to revitalize Port Washington's iconic 90-year-old Breakwater Lighthouse is complete. The black shroud and scaffolding that has surrounded the lighthouse during the restoration has been removed, leaving a fresh coat of bright white paint in place of the previous lead paint layer, as well as a more robust structure ensuring the landmark remains stable for future generations. The project was primarily paid for with a $2.2 million Wisconsin Department of Transportation grant for historic building preservation. The rest of the project's cost was fundraised. On Nov. 5, around 35 people attended a ribbon cutting ceremony held right under the lighthouse at the end of a half-mile-long breakwater. "It was a perfect Port Washington day — warm sun and freezing breeze," Mayor Ted Neitzke said. "It was just amazing. The sun was gently setting to the west and the lighthouse was literally gleaming, which it has not done for my whole life." "It's always been painted flat white, but now it's glossy and bright. You can see that thing from everywhere," Neitzke said. The lighthouse had fallen into disrepair since the city acquired it from the federal government in 2018. It's one of the reasons Neitzke ran for mayor in 2021, he said. The event was attended by city and state government staff who'd worked to leverage the grant funding, along with historical groups. In 2018, the landmark was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. "That lighthouse has beared witness to nearly a century of our city's growth and evolution, and to have it restored ... is something we're very proud of," Neitzke said. "It's a symbol of the city's direction, because we're now becoming very strategic with significant infrastructure and development taking place in our city." Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.

A $2.6 million restoration project to revitalize Port Washington's iconic 90-year-old Breakwater Lighthouse is complete.

The black shroud and scaffolding that has surrounded the lighthouse during the restoration has been removed, leaving a fresh coat of bright white paint in place of the previous lead paint layer, as well as a more robust structure ensuring the landmark remains stable for future generations.

The project was primarily paid for with a $2.2 million Wisconsin Department of Transportation grant for historic building preservation. The rest of the project's cost was fundraised.

On Nov. 5, around 35 people attended a ribbon cutting ceremony held right under the lighthouse at the end of a half-mile-long breakwater.

"It was a perfect Port Washington day — warm sun and freezing breeze," Mayor Ted Neitzke said. "It was just amazing. The sun was gently setting to the west and the lighthouse was literally gleaming, which it has not done for my whole life."

"It's always been painted flat white, but now it's glossy and bright. You can see that thing from everywhere," Neitzke said.

The lighthouse had fallen into disrepair since the city acquired it from the federal government in 2018. It's one of the reasons Neitzke ran for mayor in 2021, he said.

The event was attended by city and state government staff who'd worked to leverage the grant funding, along with historical groups. In 2018, the landmark was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"That lighthouse has beared witness to nearly a century of our city's growth and evolution, and to have it restored ... is something we're very proud of," Neitzke said.

"It's a symbol of the city's direction, because we're now becoming very strategic with significant infrastructure and development taking place in our city."

Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.