The lighthouse was equipped with a fourth order Fresnel lens. It was a wood frame residential design style known as "Carpenter/Swiss Gothic" or "Stick Style" making for a very picturesque but substantially built structure. It is the only one of this type on the East Coast. The tower height is 49 1/2 feet with the light elevation rising to 57-feet above sea level. The light is visible at a distance of 13 nautical miles.
The lighthouse stood firm against the onslaught of the winds, rains, and tides for 40 years at its original location. Then, in 1913 a severe storm significantly damaged the foundation requiring the lighthouse to be moved westward about 150-feet to where it now sits.
For the next 50 years the lighthouse continued in operation, but in 1964 an iron light tower, fitted with a modern automatic marine beacon, was erected behind the lighthouse. The lighthouse was closed and its entire property, including the old Coast Guard Station, was transferred to the NJ Marine Police. The lighthouse was boarded up and left to deteriorate for the next 18 years. In 1982, a lease was signed stating: "Whereby the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection turns over the stewardship of the Lighthouse to the City of North Wildwood." The city began restoration, operation and maintenance of the lighthouse. It was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1977. The modern marine beacon was removed from the iron light tower in 1986. It was placed inside the lighthouse lantern making it a fully functional aid to navigation once again.
At the time of my visit here in 2001, the light was active and maintained by the Coast Guard.
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