Little Gull Sold

Little Gull Island Lighthouse in Long Island Sound near Orient Point, New York has been sold at auction by the government for a whopping $381,000. This is amazing, because the only thing left at the site is the 81-foot tall tower. (Photo by Ron Foster.)

Fire Island Replica

The Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club in Lake Havasu, Arizona recently dedicated its 21st lighthouse, a replica of New York’s Fire Island Lighthouse. The replica is located at Piccadilly Point, which is on the mainland at the entrance to Thompson Bay.

Beachy Head to Keep Stripes

Volunteers have raised the nearly $45,000 needed to repaint the red and white stripes on the Beachy Head Lighthouse in Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom. Trinity House, which manages England’s lighthouses had said that because of budget shortfalls the lighthouse would be allowed to return to its natural granite because the cost of repainting the lighthouse was not possible. A public outcry ensued and volunteers raised the money that Trinity House said was the amount needed to repaint the lighthouse.

Renovations at Cleveland Ledge

Sandy D. Boyd, who purchased the Cleveland Ledge Lighthouse in Massachusetts at a GSA auction for $190,000 plans to restore the lighthouse so that it can be habitable. Mr. Boyd still has a lot of permits to obtain before full restoration can be started. (Photo by AJ Warren.)

Senator Wants Mecca for Museum Site

Charles Schumer (D-NY) has asked the Federal Transportation Administration to speed up the application to transfer the three acre site at Staten Island’s Lighthouse Pointe so a mecca shopping center and gigantic Ferris wheel can be built and the three former buildings that were part of the former headquarters of the Staten Island Lighthouse Depot can be restored. Once the project is totally approved it will still take five to six years to complete.

North Head Sale Finalized

Ownership of the North Head Lighthouse station has now officially been transferred from the Coast Guard to the State of Washington. Although the transfer of ownership was originally agreed upon in 1993, the process was delayed because of lead-based paint had reportedly contaminated the soil around the lighthouse. The lighthouse was then leased to the state until now when the lead paint issue had been resolved.

Lens Removed at St. Joseph

The 4th order Fresnel lens was recently removed from St. Joseph North Pierhead Inner Lighthouse to The Heritage Museum and Cultural Center in St. Joseph, Michigan where it will be restored. The museum also has the 5th order Fresnel lens form the St. Joseph North Pierhead Outer Lighthouse. (Photo by William Posegate.)

Point Hueneme to Lose Lens

The historic 4th order Fresnel lens at California’s Point Hueneme Lighthouse is being retired and removed from the tower and will go on display on the ground floor of the 1941 structure. The lens was originally installed in the 1874 tower which was sold in October of 1939 to the Hueneme Yacht Club and subsequently moved, but eventually the structure fell into disrepair and was demolished. At that time the lens was removed from the old tower and installed in the new 1941 tower. Plans call for a new modern optic to be installed in the 1941 tower. (Photo by Nick Korstad.)

History For Sale

Maine’s Manana Island Fog Signal Station is being offered for sale under a government auction. Established in 1855 on an island near Monhegan Island; the station never had a light tower, but did have its own keepers of the United States Lighthouse Service and later the Coast Guard. Most of the station is gone but the two-story, four bedroom keeper’s house, the brick fog signal building and pump house still stand at the site. For more information interested bidders can e-mail Barbara.salfity@gsa.gov or call 617-565-5696.

This story appeared in the Jan/Feb 2013 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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