The support facilities around the navigation beacon in West Vancouver's Lighthouse Park at Point Atkinson Lighthouse continue to be at risk of falling into ruins according to the heritage group that oversees it, in part because of the administrative limbo it, along with other lighthouses in Canada, has fallen into. The light was designated a National Historic Site in 1994 and was added to the West Vancouver Community Heritage Register last summer. The caretaker duties have been divided over the years, the neglect has caused some buildings to fall apart, according to Elaine Graham, of the West Vancouver Historical Society’s Point Atkinson Light Station subcommittee.
The lighthouse was automated in 1996, and the last lightkeeper, Graham’s late husband, lost his job. However, he was hired on to perform groundskeeper duties for two on-site homes that were taken over by the city, but that did not include upkeep of the main structures. Those remained under the Canadian government’s jurisdiction. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans took care of the lighthouse proper, but the other buildings, walkways, and helicopter landing pad were left to decay.
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West Vancouver;
lighthouse;
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