New London Harbor Light Today
The story of New London Harbor Light in the 21st century begins with its acquisition by the New London Maritime Society in 2010 under the terms of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
Harbor Light was one of 19 historic lights put up initially for transfer from the government to the stewardship of a private organization. The U.S. Coast Guard would continue to service the actual lights.
Above: Northward view of the Thames River with Groton on the east bank. Downtown New London lies around the bend of the west bank.
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Below: Not long after the Congress passed the Lighthouse Preservation act, Benjamin Martin, President of the Maritime Society, and Melodie Foster, Director of the Custom House Maritime Museum, applied to the U.S. General Services Administration for ownership of Harbor Light in this letter of June 25, 2003.
From that date to April 22, 2005, correspondence between the Maritime Society, the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the General Services Administration, and the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office satisfied the requirements which would allow transfer of ownership to the Society.
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A 2005 letter from Interior Secretary Gale Norton to President Martin endorses the selection of the New London Maritime Society by the National Park Service and applauds its "commitment to the preservation of our nation's maritime heritage in accepting stewardship of the New London Harbor Light."
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Benjamin Martin, a professional architect, served the Society for many years as president and board chairman. His vision for the new Frank L. McGuire Maritime Library led to his design for traditional bookcases and cabinetry in keeping with the architecture of the Custom House.
Seen here are the shelves housing most of the library's large collection of books about lighthouses.
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Harbor Light Transfer Temporarily On Hold
The final transfer of ownership was delayed by an unforeseen change in administration of the Maritime Society. Not until 2008 did a new executive director, Susan Tamulevich, come on board to complete the transfer and integrate Harbor Light into the Society's mission and programming.
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In 2013 an ambitious program of rehabilitation began with a four-year campaign, "I'm Part of Something Big." Within 24 hours of announcing the campaign local carpenters and painters unions and the Brand scaffolding company promised over half a million dollars worth of in-kind labor and materials, and the community donated $125,000. Restoration of the stonework and paint was directed by Loring & Son Masonry and completed in the fall of 2014.
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Progress Again Delayed
As work proceeded, the close proximity of the lighthouse to residents of the former keeper's house, and houses to the immediate south and north, led to a dispute between the residents and the Maritime Society. Increased activity on the lighthouse property was seen as an intrusion on the residents' privacy, and a lawsuit initiated by one of them in 2015 shut down the restoration for nearly three years.
The aerial view shows the location of neighboring houses which led to the dispute. Other views show the narrow strip of lighthouse property connecting Pequot Avenue to the tower after fencing was installed.
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Protracted negotiations with the neighbors, the City of New London, and the Planning & Zoning Commission continued in 2017 and 2018, until the Maritime Society won the right to resume public tours. After the first tour in March, 2019, however, three neighbors sued the Society as well as the City of New London and a settlement was not reached until 2020.
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Regulations are now in place to minimize the impact of tours, tall fencing shields the neighbors from activity on the lighthouse property, and a grant has allowed the grounds to be attractively landscaped.
The aerial view below illustrates how leafy residential New London has grown up around Harbor Light since the turn of the last century.
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The Maritime Society was required by the terms of the conveyance to "make the historic Light Station available for education, park, recreation, cultural or historic preservation purposes for the general public at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions." To that end, the original educational mission of the Society has found new expression in tours of Harbor Light which are regularly announced on the Society website and its weekly e-newsletters.
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Below: During the multi-year renovation of Harbor Light and the legal disputes that delayed the work, the Maritime Society conducted public events such as this symposium announced in 2017. In other years similar programs were presented under the title "Sentinels of the Sound," attracting lightouse historians, aficionados and even some owners to share experiences and enjoy boat tours to area lighthouses.
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