Page 75 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

[1985-1999]
S hortly after Norman Sr.’s death, Norm and Bud set out to finish his
final project: building a replica of
the Lazaretto Lighthouse at historic Lazaretto Point. The original 34-foot structure,
built in 1831, guided thousands of ships into the Baltimore harbor. Over time, the once prominent beam from the lighthouse was gradually obscured by newly constructed factories and warehouses. On September 29, 1926, after 95 years of uninterrupted service, the light was turned off forever and the structure was razed. The next day, The Evening Sun published an obituary for the beloved lighthouse, noting that it had been “eclipsed by industry.”
Norman Sr. fondly remembered the Lazaretto Lighthouse from his childhood. He chose an image of the lighthouse for the cover of his second book, Historic Canton. Rukert management had the Lazaretto Lighthouse in mind in 1981 when they named their new corporation Beacon Stevedoring and adopted an image of the lighthouse as its logo. Norman Sr. often said that the “beautiful structure never should have been torn down” even if the original beacon was obsolete as a navigational
aid. The author and preservationist wanted to see the Lazaretto Lighthouse rebuilt “for the sake of history.” By resurrecting the harbor landmark, Norman Sr. hoped to instill a new appreciation for the historical significance of Lazaretto Point and Lighthouse.
Norman Sr. wasn’t the only person intrigued by the Lazaretto Lighthouse. Literary scholars believe that macabre writer and sometime Baltimore resident Edgar Allan Poe used the lighthouse as
part of a hoax that fooled hundreds of Baltimoreans. In the 1830s, the writer had word circulated that
on April 1 a man would fly from the Old Shot Tower near the Inner Harbor some 2 1⁄2 miles to
the Lazaretto Lighthouse. Large groups gathered at each site to see the event, not realizing Poe’s joke for several hours. The Lazaretto Lighthouse is also believed to have been the inspiration for Poe’s last story, unofficially titled The Lighthouse, which was unfinished at the time of his death in 1849.
PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE
Build It and They Will Come
In 1985, company personnel obtained the orig- inal blueprints of the Lazaretto Lighthouse from the National Archives. Privately funded, but backed by Mayor Schaefer, reconstruction of the white-washed cinder-block structure took four months. The replica, built by the McLean Contracting Company, is located on the northwest corner of Lazaretto Terminal’s “A” berth, approximately 50 feet from the site of the original. To avoid confusing seafarers,
ABOVE: An illustration of the 1830s Poe hoax.
FACING PAGE:
Lazaretto Light and Fort McHenry, 1862. INSET: Photographs showing the original lighthouse at Coast Guard Station as well as the lighthouse keeper and his family.
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