The huge tarp covering the Biloxi Lighthouse is scheduled to come down Thursday, and scaffolding that workers used to paint the lighthouse over the past several weeks could come down in several days, in time for Cruisin’ the Coast events in Biloxi.
Once the tarp is removed, a freshly painted Lighthouse, albeit surrounded by scaffolding, will be revealed.
“We know for sure that the tarp is coming down Thursday,” said Biloxi Historical Administrator Bill Raymond, “and, weather permitting, we hope to have the scaffolding down by the middle of next week.”
Workers with Biloxi contractor J.O. Collins Contacting, working under cloudy skies and through light rainfall, installed scaffolding the week of Aug. 10, and planned to have the exterior painting completed in six weeks or so.
Some interior work remains to be done, Raymond said, including installation of new electrical wiring and a new door at the base of the lighthouse, and final repairs to bricks that line the inside of the 64-foot tall cast-iron structure.
“We’ve been real pleased with the progress and timeline on the construction,” Mayor A.J. Holloway said. “The challenging and time-consuming part was in pre-construction, when our architectural team at Dale and Associates had to do exhaustive research on the paint, bricks and so forth. The time and effort will restore this landmark to its original grace and splendor.”
The entire project — $400,000 cost, mostly paid for with FEMA funding — is on schedule to be completed by the end of December.
Said Raymond: “To the casual observer, it will look finished when the scaffolding comes down next week, but we’ll still have some minimal work to do.”
Lighthouse photo galleries
To see more than a hundred photos of the scaffolding being erected around the lighthouse Aug. 10-14, click here.
To see the huge tarp being positioned around the lighthouse, on Aug. 19, click here.
To see photos from the July 22 ceremony to unveil the Biloxi Lighthouse stamp, click here.
To see the Biloxi Lighthouse through the years, click here.
To read a detailed history of the Biloxi Lighthouse, click here.
