Historic Huntington Lighthouse Reopens After $1M Restoration

The historic Huntington Lighthouse is now open to visitors after thousands of hours of work and $1.1 million were put into restoring it over a two-year span.

Completion of phase one of the restoration work was celebrated with an off-shore ribbon cutting ceremony at the Lighthouse on Wednesday. Members of the NY State Assembly, donors, volunteers and construction workers were all in attendance.

The 106-year-old lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been a trusted navigational aid to mariners, a landmark for the community and an educational resource for visitors for more than a century.

The Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society raised more than $1 million to make improvements on the lighthouse, which included critical foundation repairs. Monies raised at the popular Huntington Lighthouse Music Festival contributed to the funds as well as a $250,000 grant from the New York State Department of Parks and Historic Preservation, a $145,000 grant from The Gardiner Foundation and a $250,000 anonymous donation.

Public tours of the lighthouse will resume on Sunday, July 15. There will be additional tour dates on Sunday, August 8 and Saturday, Sept. 8. For more information, go here.

Images courtesy of the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society:

• Approximately 65 guests including donors, volunteers and contractors joined together to celebrate the phase one completion of the Huntington Lighthouse’s massive restoration project, as well as the re-launching of public tours starting this Sunday, July 15.
  
• Frank Scobbo (front) and members of the Scobbo Contracting team worked tirelessly to rebuild the crumbling lighthouse foundation. Supplies and equipment were transported to the job site via boat or barge, adding to the complexity of the project.