Gay Head Light closes Monday for the season – Timothy Johnson
The Gay Head Light will close to the public on Monday until next spring, marking the end of its first season in a new location and the beginning of a multi-year restoration project, focusing on the historic brick-and-masonry tower and its immediate surroundings.
Between May 27 and May 30 this year, the lighthouse was moved 129 feet away from the eroding cliffs, buying at least 150 years before erosion may require another move inland. A stone wall similar to one that existed just east of the lighthouse in the 1880s now marks the boundary between town and Coast Guard properties, and a circular stone- and-brick bench marking the building’s original footprint is under construction.
The area around the lighthouse has been covered in sod, with a split-rail fence along the cliff edge, and other landscaping features taking shape. The 400-ton tower survived the move without a single crack, but decades of wind and rain have eroded some of its cast-iron features, including a railing surrounding the upper gallery, and an exterior ladder leading to the light room. During a severe storm in the 1800s, a portion of the brick wall below the light room shifted and cracked, and was replaced with a new brick wall that has also deteriorated over the years.