Area 17 ha | Phone +1 207-799-5871 | |
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Address 7 Tower Dr, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107, USA Hours Open today · 9AM–6PMMonday9AM–6PMTuesday9AM–6PMWednesday9AM–6PMThursday9AM–6PMFriday9AM–6PMSaturday9AM–6PMSunday9AM–6PMSuggest an edit Similar Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth Lights, Fort Williams Park, Portland Head Light, Ferry Beach State Park | ||
Two Lights State Park is a publicly owned recreation area named after the twin Cape Elizabeth Lights on Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The 41-acre (17 ha) state park opened in 1961 and offers views of Casco Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to rocky headlands, the park includes the remains of a World War II-era seacoast battery bunker and a fire control tower. Note there are no lighthouses in the park itself.
Contents
MaritimeEdit
The nearby twin lighthouses were built in 1828, but cannot be viewed from this park. The easternmost light is still active; the other was decommissioned in 1924, served as a fire control tower in World War II, and is now a private home. Although the lighthouses cannot be seen from within the park, they can be viewed from a turnaround at the end of Two Lights Road. Edward Hopper made one of the towers the subject of his 1929 painting The Lighthouse at Two Lights, which was used on a U.S. postage stamp in 1970 commemorating the sesquicentennial of Maine statehood.
MilitaryEdit
During World War II, the park area was the Cape Elizabeth Military Reservation. The coast defense battery in the park was Battery Construction Number (BCN) 201, designed for two 6-inch guns in shielded mounts that would be on the large concrete circles at each end of the bunker. As of 2016 an interpretive plaque on one of the gun positions shows the internal arrangement of the bunker. However, with the threat from surface ships nearly non-existent by the time the battery was completed, it was not armed. It was part of a modernization of the Harbor Defenses of Portland, centered on Battery Steele on Peaks Island. A duplicate of Battery Steele, BCN 101 with two 16-inch guns, was planned for an area near the park but never built.
Activities and amenitiesEdit
The park offers a network of paths of nearly two miles, traversing both forested lands and seaside rock ledges. Facilities include benches along the shore, restrooms, playground, and picnic tables.