Look out, it’s Lighthouse Season. The Government is offering 10 fixer-uppers

Posted
Last Updated

By Emma Bowman.

Have you been longing for a remote lifestyle, waterfront views or the lulling sounds of the sea? Do you have a passion for historical restoration? The federal government might have just the thing.

Ten lighthouses across the U.S. are being sold or given away for free by the General Services Administration.

For centuries, lighthouses have served as guardians for mariners, protecting them from perilous seas and guiding them to safety. But these days, modern navigation technology, like GPS, has rendered the towers less essential.

Today, as a way to preserve the historic beacons and to relieve taxpayers of the maintenance costs, the GSA offers up lighthouses to the public every May.

And during this year’s “lighthouse season,” the GSA is offloading a record number of properties, the agency said Friday.

Six lighthouses will be transferred at no cost to federal, state or local governments, nonprofits, educational organizations or other groups, if they commit to upkeep of the properties and to make them publicly available for educational, recreational or cultural purposes. Four other lighthouses will be auctioned off to the public online starting next month.

Since the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act was passed in 2000, allowing the government to transfer lighthouse ownership, more than 150 lighthouses have gone to new owners, including 81 that have been handed to government agencies and nonprofits, and 70 that have been sold to the public.

Historically, auction sales have ranged from $10,000 to $933,888, according to the GSA.

Read more at npr.org.

Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light by WikkiCommons
Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light by WikkiCommons