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Lighthouse Digest has added Alabama’s Mobile Middle Bay Lighthouse to the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List of Endangered Lighthouses. On a recent visit to the lighthouse it was discovered that some of the steel support rods, which hold the structure up, have broken. This severely compromises the structure. It was also discovered that many hand railings were broken and shingles had been blown off the lighthouse.
The Alabama Lighthouse Association had wanted to move the lighthouse to land and have it installed at Battleship Park. However, the Alabama Historical Commission rejected the idea and wanted the lighthouse restored where it stands, which was then done. The Historical Commission had also promised to give $30,000 a year for care and maintenance of the lighthouse, which it did not. It is now believed that one good storm or a possible hurricane could easily topple the headless lighthouse.
If the lighthouse had been moved to shore, it could already have become a popular tourist attraction. Now, no one can visit it, and it could soon be lost forever. We believe this is another example of bureaucracy gone amok.
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