1.3 Million Raised For Relighting
By Sue Clark on Sep 3, 2007 in News 
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Old Great Captain Island Lighthouse, on Long Island Sound near Greenwich, CT has been dark since 1970, when the current light at the Coast Guard compound next to it replaced the old. Now, thanks to donations in memory of a victim of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, more than the required $300,000 has been raised to restore the old and relight the beacon to shine again.
This late Victorian era beauty is managed by the town of Greenwich, who had a caretaker living in the keeper’s house until its condition became so bad, the caretaker had to move to a small cottage powered by a small generator. Since that time, the town and friends of the lighthouse calling themselves Return the Light have been tiressly working for ten years to raise the $1.3 million to restore it to its former glory. This included bringing the light back to the tower from its replacement next door.
“We’re preparing as much as we can to accept the light,” said Alan Monelli, head of the Department of Public Works’ building maintenance and construction division. “There has to be a conduit from the Coast Guard compound up to the light tower, we need to make sure there’s safe access, make sure it’s weather proof and make sure the glass in the tower meets Coast Guard specifications, too.”
The town set aside the $1 million for the renovations, but were relying on the final amount from donations. One of the most active members of Return the Light was Bennett Fisher of Stamford, CT, who was killed in the tower attack as he worked in his office on the 97th floor of the WTC’s south tower.
The renovation includes gutting the interior and refinishing its exterior. Improvements designed to allow public access by making the lighthouse structurally and environmentally safe for visitors are also planned. The lighthouse’s rooms will be reconfigured so that visitors won’t have to pass through the caretaker’s quarters to reach the tower, which they had to do in the past.
The Coast Guard is going along with this project to make Great Captain Island an active aid to navigation once again. The first step in shifting the location of a lighthouse’s beacon is to ensure that it still marks the waterway, said Lt. Joshua Fant, of the Coast Guard’s Providence, R.I.-based civil engineering unit. No date to start is set, but the town is preparing to contact local contractors with offers to bid.
This is great news for lighthouse preservation.
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