ATHENS — Engineers predicted Tuesday that if work does not start soon to repair the foundation of the iconic Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, the building will likely tilt toward collapse and sink into the Hudson River within five years.
Six federal and state elected officials have committed to work together in a bipartisan effort to secure $7.5 million in federal funding to repair, restore and protect the damaged underwater foundation of the historic lighthouse, which stands in the middle of the Hudson River between Hudson and Athens.
The officials are U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, state Assemblywoman Didi Barrett state Assemblyman Chris Tague.
“I urge everyone who cares about the lighthouse to add their voice to the campaign by submitting a message of support on the legislators’ ‘Contact’ page of their websites or call their offices,” Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society President Kristin Gamble said. “Petitions to sign will soon be available in area shops.”
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is listed on the national and state registries of historic places, and it is a New York State chartered museum, designated as one of “Seven to Save” by the Preservation League of New York State.
“The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has stood as a symbol of our region for nearly 150 years, and I really enjoyed seeing it up close last summer when I visited Athens,” Schumer said. “I commend the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society for its efforts to conserve this regional and Hudson River icon for generations to come.”
The lighthouse is owned and maintained by the small, volunteer nonprofit Preservation Society that received the deed from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2000. The Society gives public tours, hosts student visits and special events and contributes arts and culture initiatives.
“Now, the lighthouse is in trouble,” the Society said Tuesday in a statement. “Its huge, above-water limestone blocks do not go down into the riverbed. “Amazingly, the lighthouse is held up by 200 underwater wooden pilings pounded 50 feet into the riverbed and protected by packing mud and large boulders, or rip rap. The foundation was an 1874 engineering marvel. A 2021 underwater survey using lidar technology revealed the alarming and accelerated foundation
damage. River currents, tides and weather have taken their toll.”
But the immediate threat is the unintended consequence of the nearby commercial navigation channel dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accommodate larger, faster and wider vessels. The passing commercial vessels displace a huge volume of water that rams into the foundation. When the water recedes, it scours away boulders and the protective packing mud, increasingly exposing and damaging the wooden pilings. Some pilings are so damaged that they do not connect to the building.
The foundation’s damage also threatens the lighthouse’s main building. Work supported by a $500,000 grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 2021 is repairing and protecting the exterior infrastructure.
“The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is an architectural gem and a marvel of engineering,” Gillibrand said. “For over a century, it has helped ships navigate the Hudson and drawn in tourists from across the state and the country. I’m fighting for funding to help complete the restoration of this important landmark and I’m determined to deliver before this New York treasure is lost forever.”
After the foundation is repaired and protected, a final phase of work will repair and restore the building’s interior, the Society said. The critical foundation work is ready to go. Proper & O’Leary Engineering, which produced the 2021 Structural Engineering Report, has generated restoration concept plans. The Society is also having discussions with other lighthouses, marine contractors and local material suppliers.
The Society has raised more than $200,000 in donations from community members and received various grants from personal foundations and the Preservation League of New York State, U.S. Lighthouse Society, Bank of Greene County, National Bank of Coxsackie, Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation, New Athens Generating, State Tel and the Athens Community Foundation.
“The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse guided countless vessels to safety and stands as a symbol of our region’s rich maritime heritage,” Molinaro said. “I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure the necessary federal funding to restore this historic landmark.”
The light in the lighthouse tower serves a U.S. Coast Guard navigation aid in the upper Hudson River, but this 1874 architecturally unique maritime building is also an important part of the identity of its communities, the Upper Hudson Valley and New York State, providing historic, cultural and public service values.
“The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is not only a cherished Hudson River icon but an active navigation aid that has, for over a century, safely guided countless vessels along the Hudson River, including our U.S. Coast Guard,” Hinchey said. “Restoring this Hudson River landmark so that it can remain a beacon of maritime history and a continued seafaring asset is critical, and we are committed to ensuring its stability for generations to come.”
A photo of the iconic lighthouse hangs beside an image of the New York State Capitol at the Albany International Airport and regularly appears in promotional literature, event announcements, products and on the walls of regional businesses. It is the southern benchmark of the state’s new Hudson Eagle State Recreation Area.
“Since its construction in 1874 the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has been an iconic landmark in the upper Hudson River Valley — critical for navigation and much loved by local residents, tourists and visiting school groups,” Barrett said. “We have already lost too many of the Hudson River lighthouses that were so much part of our nautical history, so it’s especially important that the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse be preserved as an important piece of the history of our region and state. I stand with my colleagues in the state and federal government to help ensure that future generations can enjoy this historic gem.”
Restoration and preservation of the lighthouse are essential, Tague said.
“For generations, since it was completed in 1874, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has been ensuring New Yorkers, boaters and shippers safe passage along the Hudson,” Tague said. “It’s an iconic and beloved part of our history in Greene and Columbia counties, and for Hudson and Athens where it beacons home. Not only that, but the lighthouse is a popular draw for tourism and has helped to spur new kayaking and boat rentals, restaurants and other businesses along the waterfront, and is helping to revitalize our local economy.