The relocation of the Gay Head Light is scheduled to proceed this spring after an archaeological survey around the Aquinnah lighthouse found nothing of significant historical interest.
More Coverage of Lighthouse Move
For almost 160 years, the Gay Head Light has stood at the westernmost part of Martha's Vineyard, a familiar and often beloved icon. But the clay cliffs underneath the lighthouse have proven less enduring, with erosion slowly bringing the lighthouse closer to the edge. This spring, after more than two years of planning and preparation, the 400-ton, 51-foot-tall lighthouse will be moved about 129 feet to a new location.
Voters will decide tonight whether to approve a $590,000 purchase for two parcels of land near the site where the town hopes to relocate the Gay Head Light. The special town meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the old town hall. A quorum of 37 voters is needed to convene the meeting.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission voted unanimously this week not to require review as a development of regional impact. An intensive archeological survey is the next step in the project to relocate the lighthouse.
A subcommittee of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission will recommend that the Gay Head Light relocation project should not undergo review by the full commission.
The Gay Head Light relocation project will be referred to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for possible review as a development of regional impact, the Aquinnah planning board decided this week.
The town of Aquinnah is one step closer to taking ownership of the Gay Head Light, with the Department of the Interior approving its application to take possession of the endangered lighthouse. The light will be moved sometime next year.
How do you go about moving a 400-ton lighthouse? Very slowly, according to Joe Jakubik of International Chimney Corporation, the company that hopes to relocate the Gay Head Light in Aquinnah next year.
Dana Gaines doesn’t just talk the talk, or even walk the walk when he says he wants to save the Gay Head Lighthouse. He heads to the sea.
Gay Head Gallery exhibit, Keep the Lighthouse in Sight, hosts artists' work, casting out into stormy seas. Sales from the exhibit benefit relocation efforts.
