Delaware Seashore State Park is shining a spotlight on a World War II-era Tower in Lewes - literally.
Tower 3 is one of the landmark concrete WWII-era fire towers once used for Delaware’s coastal defense.
Now visitors can see it even after the sun goes down. Nine cobalt blue lights surrounding the base of the tower illuminate it each night.
“These World War II towers, for any Delawarean that knows, you drive up and down the shoreline or you drive up and down Route 1 and you see that the beaches are dotted with these historical towers that were part of the infrastructure to protect our country in World War II,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin,
Garvin was among those on hand earlier this week when the tower’s new lighting debuted.
He calls the towers a part of Delaware’s history worth preserving.
“Very much a long time in coming. The Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation started a fundraiser 10 years ago to really light up that tower and make it acceptable to people; the lighting was kind of the first measurable thing for the public to see,” Garvin said.
The fundraiser was a partnership between the Delaware Seashore Preservation Foundation, the Fort Miles Historical Association and DNREC’s Division of Parks and Recreation.
The Foundation provided $130,000 in startup funds to fully restore the tower and make it part of a museum, while the Association provided the manpower with its “Bunker Busters” cleanup crew.
$60,000 was spent on the lighting project, which included the lights and new pavement surrounding the tower.
