PEGGY’S COVE, N.S. – It may be one of Canada’s most photographed landmarks, but lately it’s been less than picture perfect.
The lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove was one of the almost 1000 lighthouses the federal government declared surplus in 2010.
Since then, Ottawa has been hit with a wave of petitions from community groups trying to save their local landmarks.
The 98-year-old Peggy’s Point lighthouse has fallen into a state of disrepair as the Nova Scotia government negotiates with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to take control of the beacon.
Tired of seeing gleaming white paint chip off the postcard perennial, a coalition of community groups have come together to take matters into their own hands.
The federal government is letting the groups take ownership of the lighthouse for 30-days and give it a fresh coat of paint.
It’s the first makeover the 15-metre tall Canadian icon has had since 2010.
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“It’s in dire need,” says John Campbell, owner of the nearby Sou’wester Restaurant. “It looks terrible.”
He says the closer you get to it, the worse it looks.
“It’s a shame to think that there could be upwards of a thousand pictures of this taken a day and this is what people are getting in their camera,” he says.
The site, about a half an hour outside Halifax, gets more than half a million visitors each year.
The lighthouse will get a professional paint job – its first in three years.
Among the coalition of groups trying to save Peggy’s Point lighthouse is the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, which is offering supplies and labour.
Other groups include the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia and the St. Margaret’s Bay Tourism Association and the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS).
Interested community groups or private parties had until May 29 to submit petitions to Parks Canada to save surplus lighthouses.
Those that fall under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act could be taken over by private or community owners.
According to the NSLPS website, Peggy’s Point is among those that have been petitioned.
The current concrete lighthouse was constructed in 1914. It replaced a wooden structure built in 1868.
*With files from the Canadian Press
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