GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — One of West Michigan's most photographed landmarks is finally open from the inside — and the public couldn't wait.
The Grand Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse welcomed more than 1,000 visitors on its very first day of public tours Tuesday, according to David Karpin, chair of the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy.
"It's like Christmas morning. It's wonderful," Karpin said. "The people are coming in."
The 1875 Outer Lighthouse — the red fog house at the end of Grand Haven's south pier where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan — has never before been open for public interior tours in its 151-year history.
The opening follows a 17-year restoration effort by the Conservancy, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the structure safe and accessible.
Karpin, a 20-year Coast Guard veteran whose job was caring for lighthouses, said he got involved after the city of Grand Haven took possession of the structures in 2009 and put an ad in the paper for volunteers.
"As soon as I volunteered, they made me the president," Karpin said.
The restoration included sandblasting and removing all lead paint from inside and outside the lighthouses — funded in part through a $100,000 matching grant challenge from the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.
The Conservancy recently received an additional $60,000 Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant to finish the second-floor interior, which is still in progress.
Inside, visitors can explore two floors of maritime history. The first floor features a restored rescue rowboat, original blueprints and an antique stove.
The second floor houses a replica sixth-order Fresnel lens, a miniature LEGO model of the pier and a small gift shop. For $5, visitors can climb the ladder to the lantern room and step out onto the gallery deck.
Karpin said the view from the top is unlike anything else.
"It's like floating on a cloud," he said. "You're up above everything, and as you look out, you kind of lose track that you're standing in a lantern room. It's like you're just kind of the girl on the bow of the Titanic — that same kind of view."
Karpin said the lighthouse is now a true destination at the end of the pier.
"When you think of Grand Haven, if you're from Lansing or Detroit, you think, 'Oh, that red lighthouse over there, that's kind of neat,'" Karpin said. "Well, come visit us. Now you can come visit the lighthouse."
Tours are available through Labor Day on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, with donations welcome. The $5 lantern room climb is optional.
Tours are weather-dependent — the lighthouse only opens when the pier is dry and waves are not crashing over it. Look for an "OPEN" sign near the pier entrance gate.
