Photo courtesy Bay Area News Group
Save East Brother Lighthouse
For more information, contact:
Tom Butt, President
East Brother Light Station, Inc, (a 501(c)3 nonprofit
corporation)
117 Park Place
Richmond CA 94801
510-220-1577
East Brother Light Station, Inc. (www.ebls.org)
needs to raise at least $750,000 to replace the pier and gangway, which provide the only access to East Brother Island. The pier was constructed by the US Coast Guard in 1962; however, the Coast Guard lacks the funds to maintain them, and they are failing.
For the last 45 years, East Brother Light Station,
Inc. (EBLS) has been the steward of East Brother Light Station, abandoned by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1969. Under a license from the Coast Guard, which owns the island, The nonprofit organization rehabilitated the lighthouse and other structures in 1979-80
and has been operating it as a bed and breakfast inn since 1980 to generate revenue to continue to maintain it. With five rooms open four days a week, East Brother has hosted over 70,000 guests since 1980.
East Brother Light Station is listed in the National
Register of Historic Places and is a California Registered Historic Landmark. It has been the subject of hundreds of media articles and video coverage. As well as the recipient of many awards. East Brother is the oldest operating wood-frame lighthouse on the
West Coast.
Since 1979, East Brother Light Station, Inc. has poured
hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars from B&B revenue into the island to maintain it and keep it open for public use. However, revenue from operation of the B&B and all the volunteers in the world can never be enough to replace
the pier and gangway. Without use of the pier and gangway, occupation of East Brother Island would cease, the bed and breakfast inn would close, and the stream of funding critical for maintenance would quickly dry up. The buildings would soon be destroyed
by neglect, vandalism and weather.
However, with your help, we can avoid this sad but
avoidable outcome. That is why, today, we starting the campaign to save East Brother. We are soliciting donors, grants, philanthropists, foundations, and public agencies for help. Please contact
tom.butt@intres.com
if you want to help or know someone who does.
A GoFundMe solicitation is at
https://gofund.me/7791e2b1
Tom Butt, President
East Brother Light Station, Inc.
Mailing address: 117 Park Place, Richmond, CA 94801
P 510/236-7435 M 510/220-1577 F 510/232-5325
East Brother Light Station, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that operates and maintains East Brother Light Station as a public service under a license
from the U.S. Coast Guard. East Brother Island is a California Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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