When lighthouse keeper Art Makenian switches on the power from a circuit breaker in the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse on Thursday, the intense beam from the Fresnel lens will signal a victory for lighthouse enthusiasts.

Last year, they lobbied the U.S. Coast Guard to repair the mechanism that turns a 92-year-old lens instead of Retiring the lens to a museum and replacing it with a newer, but dimmer, light.

It showcased the battle between modem technology and that of yesteryear, and it raised the question Are lighthouses still necessary or simply quaint relies that should be preserved?

"When it's a stormy night and land is out of sight, there is nothing like looking out and seeing that light," said Harry Cushing, owner of a marine trinket store and founder of the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society.

"Although lighthouses are a thing from the past, they still play a role in safe navigation."

At the turn of the century, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse provided a crucial beacon for ships sailing toward the southeast coast of Florida. Today, the black and white, 174-foot steel tower is the only lighthouse between Jupiter and Key Biscayne.

Makenian, an auxiliary member of the Coast Guard, became the lighthouse's 25th keeper in November.

Inside the lighthouse, he showed off the work the Coast Guard did in response to the preservationists' outcry.

An intricate ball-bearing system was installed to turn the Fresnel lens so its powerful beam can sweep the seas once again. Oak paneling, floors and new windows have been installed in each room, and the tower has been freshly painted.

The Coast Guard's plans to remove the historic Fresnel lens from the lighthouse rather than restore its broken turning mechanism touched a nerve with Broward County residents.

More than 200 joined the preservation society. They convinced others to write letters and make phone calls urging the Coast Guard to restore the lens and renovate the lighthouse.

Many lighthouses have been taken out of operation as an increasing number of mariners rely on global positioning systems, a hand-held or mounted geographic locator, instead of lighthouses.

The devices cost from $100 to $5,000 depending on their precision, but they are not foolproof, and not every mariner owns one.

"There is a chance that they may go down for one reason or another," said Robert Dean, a professor in the Department of Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering at the University of Florida. "When you talk about $143,000 [for renovating a lighthouse], I just don't think that's a lot of money in today's scheme of things. If it saves one small boat and the attendant lives, then it's paid for itself over and over."

Tom Horn, a charter boat captain with 25 years of experience sailing off the southeast Florida coast, said he thinks most mariners using the Hillsboro Inlet do not own a global positioning system.

There are only three ways to enter the Hillsboro Inlet without hitting a reef, Horn said: with the naked eye, a global positioning system or a lighthouse beacon.

"If it's dark, your eyes are out of business. If you don't have a working GPS, that won't do you any good. And that's where the lighthouse kicks in." The Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is one of about 600 operable lighthouses in the country, according to the U.S. Lighthouse society, based in California. Florida and California both have 29. Michigan, with 97, has the most.

Many do not have a working Fresnel lenses. "Where the Fresnel lens exist, they are usually in a museum setting," said Wayne Wheeler of the U.S. Lighthouse Society. "That could mean they are in the top of the tower, but the Coast Guard does not use it as a working light."

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, lighthouse keeper Makenian will flick on a switch lighting a 2,000-watt light bulb in the center of the lens. which looks like a giant crystal ball. That light will bounce off 256 slivers of glass, casting a light as far as 28 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean.