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
Site preparation for the Gay Head Light relocation is progressing quickly, with the excavation work nearly complete, and the actual move now planned to begin on June 10. The lighthouse now sits 46 feet from the eroding Gay Head Cliffs.
As the Gay Head Lighthouse begins its relocation, a similar, if much smaller, move is being prepared. The original Gay Head lantern will be moved from the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s Edgartown location to Vineyard Haven.
After more than two years of planning, the Gay Head Light relocation project got under way early this week — and then encountered a new hurdle with the discovery of soil contaminated by lead. Permanently removing the contaminated soil is expected to cost about $600,000, but most of the soil is expected to be removed only temporarily.
The Gay Head Light relocation project is under way on Monday morning.
The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has approved an 11th-hour conservation plan for protecting the endangered broad tinker’s weed near the Gay Head Light, clearing the way for the final phases of the relocation project. Ground-breaking for the project is expected to take place Monday.
A steady stream of visitors on Saturday made one last visit to the Gay Head Light, which will soon be moved 190 feet from the eroding cliffs looking out toward Cuttyhunk and Rhode Island in the distance.
