The tower on which the light stands, which seemed at a distance to be white, is in reality red, being made of pressed brick, and capped with freestone; it is forty feet high, and surmounted by an
I Will Save You!, a 65-page volume devoted to the Gay Head Light, features drawings, poems, and short stories by 60 Island students. It arrives in bookstores on Monday, and proceeds from sales of the $20 book will go towards the lighthouse relocation effort.
Marking the end of a year-long process involving state, federal and local authorities, the town of Aquinnah officially took ownership of the Gay Head Light on Friday. The transfer clears the way for the lighthouse to be moved away from the eroding Gay Head cliffs this spring.
A detailed plan for moving the Gay Head Light has been approved by town boards, and other elements of the project are quickly taking shape. If all goes well, work will begin as soon as the ground thaws and the move will be completed by Memorial Day.
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.
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.
