Avery Point Light
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Avery Point Light or Avery Point Lighthouse is a
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
in Groton,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, United States, on the Avery Point Campus of the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
. Although construction was completed in March 1943, the lighthouse was not lit until May 1944 due to concerns of possible enemy invasion. Its original light consisted of eight 200-watt bulbs that were later replaced by a flashing green light in 1960. It was deactivated on June 25, 1967, when the United States Coast Guard Training Station moved to
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
. It is officially listed as the last lighthouse built in the state; the only other claimant is the replica
Mystic Seaport Light Mystic Seaport Light is a lighthouse at the south end of Mystic Seaport, upriver from Noank, Connecticut. The light is a two-story white shingled structured topped with a glass-enclosed lantern and is a replica of the 1901 Brant Point Light. T ...
. The lighthouse deteriorated until it was declared a hazard by the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
in 1997. A restoration effort was launched in 1999 through the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) and in 2000 by a new local chapter, the Avery Point Lighthouse Society. The restoration of the lighthouse began in 2001 and was completed in 2006, requiring a replica lantern and extensive structural repairs and replacement of the crumbling of the blocks. Two bills for $150,000 and $100,000 were appropriated and used to complete the restoration. The relighting and re-dedication of the lighthouse was held on October 15, 2006. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.


Construction

The land upon which Avery Point Light was constructed was owned by Morton F. Plant's estate; his
Branford House The Branford House is located in Groton, Connecticut on the campus of UConn Avery Point, which rents it out for events. Branford House was built in 1902 for Morton Freeman Plant, a local financier and philanthropist, as his summer home; he name ...
is located several hundred feet away. Twenty four years after Plant's death the estate was sold to the state of Connecticut before being transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's deed required the construction and maintenance of beacon lights or other navigational aids as part of the Coast Guard's new training facility. The Avery Point Light was named for Captain James Avery of
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
. The Avery Point Light was designed by Alfred Hopkins and Associates to be a 41-foot (12 m) octagonal tower. Construction of the tower was completed in March 1943; it is built of brown concrete blocks and topped with an octagonal wooden lantern. During the restoration effort, it was discovered that six different types of concrete blocks were used in the construction. The tower has a total of five windows, with two facing south and one for the north, east and west. The lantern gallery deck is constructed of concrete and lined with thirty two Italian marble balusters, originally imported from Italy around 1900. The interior has an iron ladder, originally wooden, that leads up to the watchroom level. The lighthouse design and masonry tower have
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...
elements. It is the last lighthouse built in the state of Connecticut as an official navigational aid.


Service

The Avery Point Light was not lighted until May 2, 1944, due to concerns about possible enemy invasions by sea. D'Entremont notes that the first light, consisting of eight 200-watt bulbs, were an unusual array that created a fixed white light source. Though it never had a formal keeper, the lighthouse was tended by personnel or students from the United States Coast Guard Training Station. In 1960, the light was changed to flashing green and the candlepower rating doubled from 100 to 200. The light was deactivated on June 25, 1967, when the training facility moved from Avery Point to
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
.


Restoration

The Avery Point Light was listed by the university as being in "dangerously poor condition" by July 1997 and declared it a safety hazard. In December 2007, ''Lighthouse Digest'' included a brief article with the title "Avery Point added to Doomsday List" after rumors of it being torn down were reported. The article included two images that show the blocked off lighthouse with its crumbling bricks and a sign reading "Keep Out Hazardous Area". In 1999, fund-raising began to save and restore the lighthouse through the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) and in 2000 through the Avery Point Lighthouse Society (APLS), a chapter of the ALF. In 2000, the APLS website estimated $25,000 for the initial engineering study and $150,000-200,000 to complete the restoration. In 2001, Connecticut State Senator Catherine Cook introduced a bill for $150,000 in bonds to fund the restoration of the Avery Point Light; it was later approved. An article in the ''New London Day'' also noted an engineering study valued at $40,000 was being conducted for no cost by James Nordon's engineering firm of Gibble, Norden and Champion. On December 1, 2001, the first part of the restoration began with the removal of the lantern. Due to the deterioration of the lantern, the decision was made to make a replica of the original lantern. From 2003 through 2004, the West Mystic Wooden Boat Building Company donated the materials and labor to construct the replica. The company's owner, Steve Jones, has close ties to the Avery Point Light; he is a former lighthouse keeper for the
Harbor of Refuge Light The Harbor of Refuge Light (originally Harbor of Refuge West End Light, though its east end counterpart has been long since discontinued) is a lighthouse built on the ocean end of the outer Delaware Breakwater at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, jus ...
in
Lewes, Delaware Lewes ( ) is an incorporated city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747. Along with neighboring Rehoboth Beach, Lewes is one of the principal cities of Delawar ...
, and is also a University of Connecticut professor. The concrete blocks used in the construction were of poor construction due to the high sand content that crumbled with the expanding and contraction of the mortar. The decision was made to replace the outer face of the concrete blocks and strengthen the remaining original blocks with cement and steel reinforcements. A total of 3,000 blocks were needed to complete the restoration and had to be produced using special molds. The restoration work on the tower began in September 2003. Though increased costs of the restoration resulted in another need of funding to complete the project. In 2003, federal funding for another $100,000 came from the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
s "Save America’s Treasures Act" and it was endorsed by Senators
Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...
and
Joseph Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for Vi ...
. Delays in the appropriation of funding delayed the second phase of the structural restoration until June 2005; and the work was conducted from July through early November. The relighting and re-dedication of the lighthouse was held on October 15, 2006.


Importance

The lighthouse has been claimed to be a memorial tower in various sources, including the 1994 ''America's Atlantic Coast Lighthouses: A Traveler's Guide'' which states "the tower was built as a memorial tower and as a symbolic representation of the USCG lighthouse keeping responsibilities." D'Entremont notes that the misunderstanding stems from an article from 1955 in ''U.S. Coast Guard Magazine'' and acknowledges that it has come to serve as a memorial. The lighthouse was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2002. and


See also

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List of lighthouses in the United States This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...
*
List of lighthouses in Connecticut The U.S. state of Connecticut has fourteen active lighthouses in the state, two of which are maintained as private aids; six are standing but inactive. Another was destroyed after its deactivation. The earliest lighthouse in the state was erected ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New London C ...


References


External links


Avery Point Lighthouse Society
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1943 Long Island Sound Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Lighthouses in New London County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Groton, Connecticut Octagonal buildings in the United States University of Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut