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In preparation for its new on-site caretaker, the second floor of the keeper’s house at Montauk Point Lighthouse in Montauk, New York has undergone an extensive restoration.
The last time the two bedroom apartment above the museum was touched was in 1962 when the Coast Guard did some work on the apartment. Beneath the plaster, wallboard, and layers of carpeting and linoleum, the Montauk Historical Society found wood flooring dating back to 1931 and two fireplaces dating back to 1860 that had been hidden for decades.
Joe Gaviola, the new on-site caretaker, replacing Marge Winski, who had lived there for the past 31 years, said they also uncovered “glorious ceiling beams” that hadn’t seen the light of day in years. They will now leave them exposed and install wallboard or plaster in-between them for aesthetic purposes.
The renovation will also address plumbing, electrical, and heating problems in the offices of the historical society that share the second floor with the caretaker’s apartment.
The apartment renovations are just a small fraction of the planned work at the historic lighthouse. Soon, work will start on an expensive rebuilding of the revetment protecting the lighthouse from erosion, and in the very near future, work will begin to restore the tower itself.
This story appeared in the
Mar/Apr 2019 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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