The Top of the Fire Tower

At the top of the Fire Tower are slits for the observation level and a rooftop platform. While the Cape May tower was being designed, there was debate over whether it should have one, two, or three observation levels. On March 23, 1942, it was decided that it would have a single two-slit observation level because it was connected with only one battery at Cape May Point. In Cape May, wood was used for the door, ladders, and top railing instead of the steel used on the Delaware side, following a 1942 report that called for substituting wood for steel whenever possible because steel was needed for the war effort. Copper cables running up the side of the tower are connected to lightning rods mounted on the top railings, and this lightning protection was installed in August 1943, almost a year after the tower was completed, at a cost of $70.

New Jersey · United States