Historic Life Saving Station Gets $750,000 Grant for Restoration

Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday that provides the historic life saving station in Ocean City with $750,000 for restoration.

The New Jersey Historic Trust grant was part of more than $10 million in funding for 58 historic sites throughout New Jersey.

U.S. Life Saving Station 30 operated in Ocean City from 1885 to 1915, rescuing ships and sailors in distress and serving as a place of shelter on a remote stretch of shoreline. A nonprofit group is working to create a maritime museum at the site of the station at Fourth Street and Atlantic Avenue.

The city borrowed almost $1 million in 2010 to purchase the property and save it from demolition. And the money awarded on Monday is part of a matching grant -- the city will have to come up with an equal $750,000 to help the museum replace its roof and complete work on the foundation, windows and porch of the historic building.

Funding for repairs to the Lifesaving Station is included in a long-term capital improvement plan approved by City Council. About $300,000 will be appropriated with bonding scheduled for a council vote later this year. Another $450,000 would be designated in 2012.

The nonprofit U.S. Life Saving Station 30 organization has promised to repay the city for any money it receives for repairs to the building.

"We're moving forward with this in the direction we said we would," said John Loeper, chairman of U.S. Life Saving Station 30.

Loeper said architects are still working on plans for a detailed restoration of the historic building and that the news from Trenton is a important step.

"This is just one of the nails in the process, and it helps us move forward," he said.

Once the Life Saving Station is repaired, nonprofit organizers say it can become the site of various fundraising activities.  

"The U.S. Life Saving Station in Ocean City is significant as an example of a significant type of life saving station and for its association with the activities of the U.S. Life Saving Service," the New Jersey Historic Trust said in a news release Monday.

The Trust goes on to outline more about the project:

"The building was constructed in 1885 in what was referred to as the “1882 type.” There were twenty-five life-saving stations constructed in this style. In 1905, the building’s footprint was expanded to nearly twice its original size. The expansion was done in a style unique to New Jersey Life Saving Stations. In 1915 the U.S. Life Saving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service were combined to form the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard continued to utilize the building until it was decommissioned during the 1940s and sold. It was used as a private residence until the City purchased it in May 2010.

"The Trust grant will help fund the interior and exterior restoration of the building, based on the recommendations of a preservation plan. The proposed project will restore the building to its circa 1915 appearance, when the U.S. Coast Guard took over the building, reversing the alterations that were made to convert the building into a residence."

This year’s grant recipients were previously approved by the New Jersey Historic Trust Board of Trustees and the Garden State Preservation Trust.

"Funding for the grants comes from the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund, which was created to preserve open space, farmland and historic sites and to encourage joint preservation efforts by the public and private sectors," a news release from the Governor's Office said. "In 2007 and in 2009, voters approved referendums to provide additional money to the Trust Fund. Including today’s announced projects, the Historic Trust has awarded more than $135 million in 697 matching grants since 1990."

The public can help the station raise money by purchasing U.S. Lifesaving Station 30 memberships that range from $25 to $250. For more information, call Loeper at 609-398-5553 or visit: uslifesavingstation30.org