Going Coastal

A fledgling Philadelphia preservation group is the only applicant to seek ownership of the historic Execution Rocks Lighthouse in Long Island Sound.

Historically Significant Structures, a nonprofit corporation formed in 2003 to restore lighthouses, was the only local government or organization to request the deed for the beacon off Sands Point from the federal government by the deadline.

The government is giving away lighthouses the Coast Guard no longer wants to own, but the agency will continue to maintain the lighting equipment.

Restoring Execution Rocks would be the first project for Historically Significant Structures, said the group’s treasurer and attorney Linell Lukesh, who previously ran a social service organization. Other board members include a real estate agent, restaurateur, engineer and other professionals with an interest in preservation and maritime issues.

“We saw there was a possibility to acquire one and preserve a landmark in our history,” she said. The group would set up a Long Island office if the government gives it the lighthouse.

The deadline for submitting a letter of interest to the General Services Administration was in July.

The group has until Nov. 20 to file its application with the National Park Service, but the agency has granted an extension until Jan. 4 so the group can do more planning and seek local partners.

Historically Significant Structures has hired an architectural restoration firm with lighthouse expertise to develop a plan and budget for restoration, Lukesh said. She and other group leaders visited the lighthouse in August and found it in surprisingly good shape. But Lukesh said the keeper’s quarters would have to be gutted.

Meta Cushing, a General Services Administration real estate specialist, said it’s not unusual for nonlocal groups to seek ownership “as the program is getting to be better known.” She said federal officials want the lighthouses to go to a government or a group with a strong chance of a successful restoration and ongoing operation that incorporates local access. “No matter who gets it, the local people will get to enjoy it,” Cushing said.

The 1848 Execution Rocks Lighthouse is the second Long Island lighthouse offered by the General Services Administration since the 2000 passage of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.

The town of North Hempstead has already applied to become owner of the nearby Stepping Stones Lighthouse and is awaiting a decision by the secretary of the Interior.

Execution Rocks Lighthouse

Status

On National Register of Historic Places

The Structure

Designed and built (1848-49) by Alexander Parris Six-story 60-foot tower. Cut granite masonry keeper’s dwelling (1867-68) in Gothic Revival style

The Light

A working lighthouse with white, solar-powered light. Automated since 1979.

The Name

Legend has it that during the Revolutionary War, the British would chain prisoners to the rocks, allowing the high tide to drown them. This apparently has not been documented. A more widely accepted explanation. The rocks wrecked passing ships, effectively “executing” them.

BY BILL BLEYER

Newsday