25 Jul Historic East Brother Light Station Needs Money to Continue Operations

East Brother Island Lighthouse on East Brother Island in the San Rafael Bay, near the tip of Point San Pablo, in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2023. The island marks the entrance to San Pablo Bay from San Francisco Bay. (Ray Saint Germain / Bay City News)

By Samantha Kennedy
Bay City News

Operations and public access to the historic East Brother Light Station are at risk if repairs to the Richmond island’s only access point are not funded, the nonprofit that acts as a steward to the station said this week.

East Brother Light Station, Inc. said on Thursday that it needs at least $750,000 to fund repairs to the pier and gangway to ensure access to East Brother Island.

“Without use of the pier and gangway, occupation of East Brother Island would cease, the bed and breakfast inn would close, and the stream of funding critical for maintenance would quickly dry up,” Tom Butt, former Richmond mayor and current president of the nonprofit, said in a statement. “The buildings would soon be destroyed by neglect, vandalism and weather.”

The Light Station, built in 1847 and automated in 1969, is the oldest operating wood-frame lighthouse on the West Coast. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a California Registered Landmark.

The nonprofit has been the steward of the Light Station for 45 years, rehabbing the lighthouse and other structures since the U.S. Coast Guard abandoned it in 1969, the statement said.

The lighthouse now operates as a bed and breakfast that generates revenue that allows the island to stay open to the public, according to Butt.

“However, revenue from operation of the B&B and all the volunteers in the world can never be enough to replace the pier and gangway,” Butt said.

The nonprofit launched an online fundraising campaign through GoFundMe to raise $51,000 for a prefabricated gangway, according to the campaign. So far, a little over $6,000 had been raised as of Friday morning.

More information on how to donate can be found here www.gofundme.com/f/save-east-brother-lighthouse-replace-the-pier or by contacting Butt at tom.butt@intres.com.

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