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
With the summer season picking up, managers for the Gay Head Light relocation project hope to have the site mostly restored by the Fourth of July. About half the excavated soil has been returned to the site and a new concrete-block foundation is nearly complete.
The town of Aquinnah will seek a cultural designation for the area around Aquinnah Circle, including the Gay Head Light, from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which promotes arts, sciences and humanities in the state.
The Gay Head Light relocation project continues, with a foundation of concrete blocks slowly rising around a gridwork of steel beams that supports the 400-ton structure. On May 30, the lighthouse was moved inland from the eroding cliffs.
With the smash of a champagne bottle and loud cheers, the Gay Head Light came to rest Saturday directly above the spot where experts believe it will be safe from erosion for 150 years or more.
Working at an accelerated pace, crews moving the Gay Head Light expect to finish the job by Saturday morning. The lighthouse move began Thursday morning with much fanfare; the 1856 brick tower will travel 129 feetl east of the eroding cliff edge.
Just before noon on Thursday the Gay Head Light departed the spot where it has stood for 159 years. The Island's oldest lighthouse headed for its new home about 175 feet from the eroding Gay Head cliffs.
