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LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION OFFERS LODGING

NEWBURYPORT, MASS. - The lighthouse Preservation Society has announced a new

program to raise funds at the grass-roots level for America's endangered

lighthouses. For each tax-deductible gift of $1,000, overnight reservations

for two are being offered at one of 15 different restored lighthouses around

the country. Sites included are on both the East and West Coasts, as well as

the Great Lakes.

No country in the world has a larger collection of lighthouses, with a greater

diversity of architectural styles, than the United States. The massive program

of constructing our nation's beacons was undertaken with the goal of never

allowing a ship to be out of sight of a lighthouse, thereby assuring the

protection of ships and lives within our nation's waters. This program was

instituted under George Washington in the Ninth Act of Congress. It became our

nation's first Public Works Act, and is considered to be the "First Great Work

of the American People."

Of the approximately 1,200 lighthouses that were once built in this country,

only about 800 still remain, and less than 500 are still operational. Due to

more sophisticated navigational equipment aboard ships, the massive conversion

to unmanned automated beacons, and insufficient operating funds, the Coast

Guard is in the process of phasing down its lighthouse program.

Until recently, the US Coast Guard has transferred only a handful of

lighthouses to states, municipal governments, or nonprofit organizations. This

policy is in the process of being radically changed. In a new development and

change from its prior policy, the Coast Guard in this new round of 73

lighthouse transfers will not fix these buildings prior to divesting

themselves of them. They must be accepted by the recipients "as is," creating

an initial hardship (often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) on

numerous agencies, local governments, and nonprofits. Many well-intentioned

local groups are now balking at the up-front fix-up costs to their beloved

lighthouses that the federal government has been either unwilling or unable to

properly maintain for decades. These buildings have strong local identities

and are frequently symbols (appearing on town seals) of the local communities

where they are found.

For information, 800/727-BEAM.