BOSTON — A lighthouse on Lake Erie in Cleveland is one of 10 lighthouses that for generations have stood like sentinels along America’s shorelines protecting mariners from peril and guiding them to safety are being given away at no cost or sold at auction by the federal government.
The aim of the program run by the General Services Administration is to preserve the properties, most of which are more than a century old.
The development of modern technology, including GPS, means lighthouses are no longer essential for navigation and not critical to the Coast Guard’s mission.
One of the four lighthouses being sold at auction is the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Light, a 50-foot steel tower dating to 1911 that is only accessible by boat but has spectacular views of the city skyline.
The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light in Chassell, Michigan (see photo above) is also going on the block.
Since the passage of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000, the GSA the ownership of about 150 lighthouses have been transferred.