LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / January 5, 2000

MANCHAC – The 1868-era Manchac lighthouse is officially the property of the state of Louisiana. The Dec. 28 turnover opens the door for a flurry ofactivity aimed at rescuing the historic structure from the ravages of time.

It also means the lighthouse may soon provide a useful function again, with plans now under way to re-light the structure as a navigational aid.

Ben Taylor, chairman of the Manchac Lighthouse Committee, said a citizens’ group has worked hard with fund-raisers and public awareness moves, including an annual festival, to generate interest in the structure.

In August, the drive to rescue the lighthouse from the ravages of Lake Pontchartrain tidal action took a giant leap forward with $230,000 appropriation in the 1999 Capital Outlay Budget approved by the Legislature and Gov. Foster.In one of his last pieces of legislation before leaving office, U.S. Rep. BobLivingston successfully engineered the transfer of the lighthouse ownership from the U.S. Coast Guard to the state of Louisiana, under theadministration of the State Land Office.

However, the actual transfer lingered for most of 1999, and finally U.S.Sen. John Breaux made the final push for the transfer.With financing in place, engineer Wally Burns of Waveland (who, Taylor said, has a “keen interest” in the structure) has begun work toward reclamation of the lighthouse.

The main problem is that tidal action from Lake Pontchartrain at Pass Manchac has undermined the structure’s foundation. At present thelighthouse leans visibly and a collapse is possible.

The title transfer also included the eight-acre peninsula on which the lighthouse precariously rests, though the acreage itself is already under several inches of lake water.

“I’ve also been working with a young lady from the LSU School of Landscape Architecture,” Taylor said, adding she envisions restoration of the entire complex, from lighthouse-keeper’s house to gardens and docks.

That project, Taylor said, is not likely at this point without a permanent resident “keeper” at the light.

“It brings in the whole matter of liability,” he continued. “People couldget hurt.”The $17,000 already raised by the committee through public donations to help rescue the lighthouse is earmarked to be spent on brickwork, lighting, painting, glasswork and a new light.

That new light could conceivably be in place and lit in a matter of weeks, Taylor said.

The Manchac lighthouse is one of five remaining around Lake Pontchartrain, the others located in The Rigolets, at the New Orleans Lakefront (at the old Pontchartrain Beach site), at the West End and at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River.

“It’s exciting just to see things moving along,” Taylor concluded.

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