Saybrook Breakwater Light
 | |
| Location | Old Saybrook, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°15′48″N 72°20′34″W / 41.2632°N 72.34276°W |
| Year first constructed | 1886 |
| Year first lit | 1886 |
| Automated | 1959 |
| Foundation | Cast Iron and Concrete Caisson |
| Construction | Cast Iron with Brick lining |
| Tower shape | Conical |
| Height | 48 ft (15 m) |
| Original lens | Fifth order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens | 300 MM |
| Characteristic | green flash every 6 s |
|
Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse | |
| Location | S terminus of Saybrook Jetty at mouth of Connecticut River, Old Saybrook, Connecticut |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1886 |
| Governing body | Federal |
| MPS | Operating Lighthouses in Connecticut MPS |
| NRHP Reference # | 89001474[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 29, 1990 |
Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is a sparkplug lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, at Fenwick Point at the mouth of the Connecticut River near Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It is featured[2] on the state's "Preserve the Sound" license plates.
"That outer lighthouse is the symbol of Old Saybrook," town First Selectman Michael Pace said in 2007, when the town was making plans to buy the lighthouse from the federal government.[2]
The lighthouse is also known simply as "Breakwater Light" or "Outer Light". It is one of two built off Lynde Point in the nineteenth century. The other lighthouse, known as Lynde Point Light or more commonly as "Inner Light", is 75 years older than this lighthouse. The two lighthouses mark the harbor channel at the mouth of the Connecticut River.[2]
History
The lighthouse has been in service since 1886.[2]
In 2007, the federal government announced it would sell the lighthouse as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Program, which was created to transfer responsibility for maintenance of lighthouses to municipal governments or private entities. The Old Saybrook town government expressed an interest in the lighthouse, which is not expected to be transferred from the federal government until sometime in 2008 or 2009. The National Park Service will screen potential owners. The Coast Guard would continue to maintain the light while the new owners maintain the historic structure. The Coast Guard also owns the land on which the lighthouse sits, and transferring the land is not part of the preservation program. As of January 14, 2014, the Minio family, of the exclusive Bel-Aire Manor section of Old Saybrook, are the new private owners of the Old Saybrook Point Lighthouse. Joseph C. Minio, Sr. and Dr. Christopher M. Minio are co-Lighthouse owners and keepers. [2]
Notes
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Associated Press news article, titled "Old Saybrook lighthouse for sale for $1" in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, August 7, 2007, page A4
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CT-178, "Saybrook Breakwater Light, South tip of west end of Saybrook Breakwater, Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, CT"
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