Fundraiser Created to Preserve the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse

The Friends of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, a 5013c organization, is hoping to raise money to help “preserve, restore and celebrate the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse for future generations.”

Located just off the Chicago shore, southeast of Navy Pier, the lighthouse was constructed in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition. The lighthouse moved to its current location in 1919, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and was listed as a Chicago Landmark in 2003. In 2010, the City of Chicago took ownership of the lighthouse.

The organization is hoping to raise enough money to preserve the lighthouse’s integrity and mitigate further deterioration; restore the lighthouse’s interior finished areas to allow for public access; and ultimately turn the lighthouse into an interpretive exhibit that illustrates Chicago’s maritime history.

At press time, the organization had raised over $9,000 of the $5 million goal.

For more information, visit savethelighthouse.org.