Great Captain Island Lighthouse Darkness
After 37 years of darkness, Great Captain Island Lighthouse is one step closer to becoming a restored Light of the Night. According to the “Return the Light” organization, $300,000 was donated in memory of the late Bennett “Ben” Fisher who was murdered by the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Ben was involved in the renovation project that was established in 1997.
The Great Captain Island Light Station was a working Lighthouse from 1868 to 1970 when the U.S. Coast Guard replaced the Light Station with an automated light nearby. A caretaker of the island lived in the Lighthouse Keeper’s quarters until 2003 when the structure became unsafe. The town of Greenwich manages the Lighthouse and has appropriated $1 million to cover the total renovation cost of $1.3 million.
The town of Greenwich is currently preparing to solicit bids for a contractor who will restore the Light Station for the resident caretaker and reactivate the Lighthouse as Active Aid to Navigation if the proposed new beacon marks the waterway per U.S. Coast Guard regulations.
The current 51-feet high granite and cast-iron Lighthouse was built in 1868 to replace the first Lighthouse constructed in 1829 to mark the small islands and ledges near the main shipping channel of Long Island Sound. The Lighthouse exhibited a Fixed White Light illuminated by a Fourth-order Fresnel lens 74 feet above sea level visible to a range of 12 nautical miles. Currently, the automated Light on the nearby skeleton tower exhibits a Alternating Flashing White and Red Light every 12-seconds 62-feet above sea level to a visible range of 17 nautical miles.
Great Captain Island Lighthouse is closed to the public and is best viewed by private boat.
For Map Directions, please visit the Great Captain Island Lighthouse.
Related News Story:
Final $300,000 raised for $1.3 million lighthouse overhaul
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Explore posts in the same categories: Preservation News
September 5th, 2007 at 5:12 am
Lighthouse - a place that giving hope for people. This is what I think !
Nice blog =)
September 5th, 2007 at 6:05 am
That’s a great story.
Too bad we don’t keep-up these great buildings on an on-going basis, rather than waiting until they need such massive restoration. It’s such a great piece of history.
September 5th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Thank you for your great comment, DrowseyMonkey.
Fortunately, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is slowly changing the fate of our historic Lighthouses by transferring ownership to local preservation groups who must maintain the Lighthouse as historical symbols of our maritime heritage! Unfortunately, there is no single simple answer for the past neglect of American Lighthouses.