Why is Fire Control Tower No. 23 administered by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC)?
Like the Cape May Lighthouse, Fire Control Tower No. 23 is owned by the State of New Jersey (specifically, the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and Forestry). As was the case with the Lighthouse, the State lacks the funds to restore and operate these historic structures. Instead, it has leased them to the area’s leading cultural and historic preservation organization, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). Founded in 1970, MAC saved and restored the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate and operates it as Cape May’s only Victorian house museum. Starting in 1986, MAC spent 15 years (and some $2 million) on the restoration of the Cape May Lighthouse.
