But last August it was in such disrepair, the center had to close.
"The subfloor was damaged, it wasn't really safe," said Executive Director John Lavery. "We had issues with the walls, we had issues with the ceilings, we had issues with the floors, and we had issues with the electricity and plumbing."
But this week, the community organization got an incredible boost: Volunteer non-profit City Year joined up with paint company Sherwin-Williams to transform the building.
70 City Year volunteers got started on Sunday.
"A team from City Year Philadelphia has been out here taping, tarping and really getting this ready for the volunteers to come in and put the finishing touches and finish it in one day,' said Meggan Levene of City Year.
On Thursday, 75 more volunteers from Sherwin-Williams showed up with free premium paint to complete the gym, dining room, entrance hall and two classrooms.
"Changing a color on the wall can change your attitude and mood, brighten up a room, clean it up," said Curt Kaucher of Sherwin Williams.
Today's good works will quickly be put to good use. On March 15th, the lighthouse will open up its doors again for a head start program.