Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Completely re-​constructed after Katrina, this iconic landmark is now an inter-​active museum open to the public every day except Sunday. Docents, who are volunteers, enthusiastically give personal tours tIlored to the interests of the visitor, whether «locals» or tourists; can be great fun for all ages! It’s also a featured stop on the «Isle of Orleans» tour by Grayline. Terriffic little gift shop, too, and great views/​photo ops! All proceeds from ticket sales and the gift shop benefit the environmental work of Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, which operates the Lighthouse Museum. Beautiful location for weddings & private parties, too!

We rented the lighthouse grounds recently for an early evening party. Beautiful setting for the event. There was a nice sunset on the lake as we were setting up. The food and drinks were placed on tables on the concrete Lighthouse Breezeway (under the raised lighthouse which is raised about one story above the ground). The guests mingled in the Fountain Plaza where the tables and chairs were set up and could stroll along the Lakefront Lawn to look over at the Point and the boats sailing by. The weather held and people had a good time. Restroom facilities are in the Education Center/​Gift Shop. The event ground is wheelchair friendly with ramps to get to the different levels.

Wooo! Love getting an FtR for an historical site. If you’ve been to sea lighthouses along the Atlantic coast… this is nothing like that. It’s short and squat and built in 1838. It guided ships along the lake to the canal that accessed downtown NOLA.
For most of my life, it was just kind of there. According to the historical timeline on their website, the lighthouse was owned and in use by the Coast Guard until 1999… I’m not sure about that in use part.
But it was one of the many structures damaged in the aftermath of Katrina. It was actually knocked off it’s base and landed at an angle. There was a huge fund raising effort to rebuild the lighthouse and the create the education center.
When I passed by today, the lighthouse was gated off and closed but it’s still pretty to look at from the road… or from the Point. Now I’ll just have to make it back to see the inside exhibit.