One of Maine’s most famous lighthouses will be closed to the public this season as officials won’t be able to repair the damage from January’s storms until the fall.
The historic Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, which draws thousands of visitors every summer, has been inaccessible to the public since the back-to-back storms badly damaged the raised walkway out to it.
The lighthouse is one of the most prominent landmarks in the midcoast, having appeared in the movie “Forrest Gump” and in commercials for companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Nautica, and its white stone structure has also appeared in countless tourist photos. It was saved from potential development by a group of locals in the 1980s.
The January storms eroded about four feet of shoreline in that area and caused significant damage to the supports holding up the walkway, Nat Lyon, the chair of the Marshall Point Lighthouse and Museum committee, told the St. George select board in January.
Now, the group that runs the lighthouse and museum won’t be able to repair the damage until the fall, Lyon said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
While the walkway and lighthouse will be closed to the public, the museum will remain open this season, starting with weekends only from May 4 to 25, and then seven days a week for the rest of the season, according to its website.
It wasn’t the only damage to the lighthouse in the last year: lightning struck it last August, temporarily taking out the light and foghorn that are still operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Several other midcoast lighthouses that were affected by January’s storms will be open for summer, including the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse and the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Bristol.