A Historic Lighthouse Gets a Careful Makeover with the Help of Dry Ice Blasting

A lighthouse can accumulate a lot of history over 150 years and the lighthouse on Texas’ Bolivar Peninsula has more stories than most.

Built in 1872, the 117-foot Bolivar Point Lighthouse survived multiple thrashings by some of the Atlantic’s most powerful and deadly storms, as well as an accidental shelling by soldiers engaged in artillery practice in 1917.

Its resilience proved to be more than an architectural legacy. When 125 people sought shelter in the lighthouse during the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the huddled men, women and children – including nine passengers of a train stopped by flooding nearby – were among the survivors of a storm that left an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 dead, including the passengers who stayed on the train. Inside the lighthouse, all 125 survived. Fifteen years later, another group of people survived inside the lighthouse, riding out the storm on its winding cast iron steps.

A Delicate Touch for an Iconic Staircase

An ongoing effort to restore the lighthouse brought the Polar Clean team to those same steps last month. The Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation, the volunteer organization overseeing the restoration, found Polar Clean during a search for ways to clean decades of grime and buildup from the staircase and landings in preparation for repainting.

Along with history, a 152-year-old lighthouse accumulates a lot of grime, salt, rust and other adherents left behind by wind, waves and occupants.

Dry ice blasting, which uses frozen CO₂ pellets to gently lift away peeling paint, grime and other adherents, is particularly effective in hard-to-reach settings like the spiraling steps of a lighthouse. By using water-free dry ice blasting to eliminate the buildup on the steps’ surface and undersides, the risk of flash rusting or damage to the interior iron, brick and mortar was eliminated. Dry ice pellets sublimate on contact, so there’s no collateral debris to clean up.

Restoration contractors also like dry ice blasting for its ability to deliver an adjustable level of force that can remove the grime while leaving the history intact.

Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation board member Jody DeSantis, who is leading the fundraising effort, said the group knew the stairs would require a non-traditional cleaning method. Having seen the watery sludge left behind by sandblasting used to rid the lighthouse’s outer cast iron panels of dirt and rust, she knew it was not an option for the interior of the structure.

Laser cleaning was considered but was too slow; a test showed it would have taken months or longer. Then DeSantis learned about dry ice blasting from a cast iron fabricator. That led her to Polar Clean. “The number one thing was it was effective, and two, it didn’t create a mess,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine if you had to sandblast inside, how much sand would be falling down.”

In a week the steps were clean and ready for their fresh coat of paint. “It looks really good,” DeSantis said. “They were there for a week; they worked 12-hour days. They were so professional. The follow-up, the commitment – nothing but great work from them.”

Texas Lighthouse Restoration Effort Works Its Way to the Top

For DeSantis and the rest of the foundation members, the job is ongoing. A current fundraising effort is underway to replace the lighthouse’s iconic tower and light. The original Fresnel lens was removed when the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933 and is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of U.S. History in Washington, D.C.

In addition to completing the interior restoration, the project calls for the lighthouse pinnacle to be replaced and fitted with an LED lens. Eventually, the foundation plans to open the lighthouse to the public for field trips and other events. “That’s our main goal,” said DeSantis, “to share it with the public – to share the stories.”

Everyone knows that lighthouses save lives by preventing shipwrecks, she said. “I haven’t heard of any others that saved whole communities in the lighthouse itself.”

Get Involved

At Polar Clean, we are proud of the work we do for restoration projects across the country. As part of the Premium Plant Services family, our training, expertise and array of industrial cleaning options, including dry ice and sponge blasting, provide restoration contractors with solutions for cleaning challenges that ordinary methods can’t resolve.

We are also honored to have been able to play a role in the restoration of this historic landmark. You can too. To learn more about the Bolivar Point Lighthouse project, visit the website of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation or watch the video, Refuge to Restoration One Step at a Time. You can also stay tuned for dates of upcoming open houses as well as plans to celebrate the Bolivar Point Lighthouse birthday on Nov. 19.

To learn more about dry ice blasting and other industrial solutions we provide, reach out to a member of our team.

Learn More about Dry Ice Blasting for Restoration

Image source: Photo courtesy of Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation