Port council, donors back breakwater art plan

Port Washington’s breakwater is expected to become a colorful version of itself this spring.

That’s because the Common Council on Tuesday approved Bill Prince’s plan to paint the vertical walls of the breakwater in varying shades of blue to reflect the various colors of the lake.

The deepest blues will be close to shore and the palest colors near the white lighthouse.

Prince told aldermen that since he first proposed the project, he has received commitments from 20 businesses and individuals willing to each sponsor the painting of a panel of the breakwater wall for $1,000.

Those commitments were made without him doing any serious fundraising, Prince said.

“This was the easiest $20,000 I’ve ever walked into,” he said. “I haven’t really started fundraising.”

The money will not only cover the $11,500 cost of painting the breakwater panels, it will also create a maintenance fund to keep the wall painted and neat.

The wall probably will need to be repainted every five to 10 years, Prince said, noting the paint that will be used is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds.

“It’s appropriate for the inner wall of the harbor,” he said.

The Army Corps of Engineers which owns the breakwater, has signed off on the project, City Administrator Mark Grams said.

Prince, a local yacht designer, said he got the idea for the painted breakwater from his travels to Europe, especially Greece where the white cottages contrast with the bright blue sea.

“I spend a great deal of time staring at the (breakwater) wall,” he said, noting his office is on the lakefront.

The idea, Prince said, is to reflect the ever changing colors of the lake in the otherwise drab concrete walls of the breakwater 

“One of those 17 wall (panels)  is bound  to blend in with the sky and water,” he said, noting the color of the lake changes throughout the day.

“I think it would look spectacular. It would look different every day.”

And, he said, it would likely make the breakwater an even more popular tourist attraction than it already is.

Donors to the project will be recognized on a small bronze plaque mounted on each wall panel, Prince said.

The work will be done “as soon as the weather permits in May,” Prince said.

He has said the prep work and painting would be done by Elegant Estates, a Port firm recommended by Sherwin Williams, which makes the paint that will be used on the breakwater.