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Lighthouse preservation groups search for new uses in a GPS age

NPR: Maine Lighthouse With Fantastic View for Sale [Real Player] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129172321 Staten Island lighthouses on the auction block http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/houses_on_the_auction_block.html Preservation group restoring historic 'Bug Light' http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/news/x1422843925/Preservation-group-restoring-historic-Bug-Light Michigan Lighthouses http://www.michigan.org/Things-to-Do/Attractions/Lighthouses/Default.aspx U.S. Coast Guard Historic Lighthouse Index http://www.uscg.mil/history/h_lhindex.asp Many people have fond attachments to lighthouses, and lighthouses are rightly seen as literal and figurative beacons poised at the edge of unforgiving and treacherous waters. In the past the solitary lighthouse keeper was also seen as an integral part of this landscape. As of late, many lighthouse keepers have been rendered obsolete with the widespread use of GPS units and technologically advanced navigational tools. A number of preservation groups have stepped up to maintain the lighthouses, but the work can be quite difficult, to say the least. Groups working in places like Michigan and California have replaced $2500 doors on the structures only to find them gone after a hard storm, and just the basic maintenance on the structures is time-consuming and expensive. Scott L. Hollman, who won the Granite Island Light Station in Michigan ten years ago at auction, commented, "You cannot restore a lighthouse with bake sales." After the successful restoration of a lighthouse many owners still wonder what they can do with the property. Many owners have gotten creative and started microbreweries within their walls, while others have crafted small B&B's out of these tightly configured spaces. The first link will take visitors to an article from this Saturday's New York Times that talks about the challenges faced by those who seek to preserve and restore lighthouses. The second link whisks users away to a report from NPR about a lighthouse for sale in Maine. Potential buyers stand warned that the fog horn at the lighthouse blares every 10 seconds. The third link leads to a piece from the Staten Island Advance about two lighthouses on the island that are now for sale, courtesy of the Federal Government. Moving along, the fourth link leads to a preservation success story from the Wicked Local website about "Bug Light" lighthouse in Plymouth Harbor. The fifth link offers an excellent guide to the 113 lighthouses scattered around the state of Michigan. Each entry offers information about visiting the lighthouses and so on. The final link leads to the U.S. Coast Guard's Lighthouse site, which features a history of the Lighthouse Act of 1789, a West Coast lighthouse gallery of images from the 19th century, and a set of historic lighthouse plans.
Alternate Title
With Keepers Obsolete, Lighthouse Duties Fall to New Set of Stewards
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Date of Scout Publication
August 20th, 2010
Date Of Record Creation
August 20th, 2010 at 10:28am
Date Of Record Release
August 20th, 2010 at 6:08pm
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