Lighthouse Becomes a Darkhorse

The past few years have been a remarkable time for museums in New York City, with new, expanded and re-launched museums marking the revitalization of the post 9-11 city: the Museum of Finance, the Sports Museum of America, the Museum of Arts & Design, and the literally re-launched Intrepid Museum of Sea, Air and Space. But one museum has not joined this list.

On the Staten Island waterfront, next door to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal sits a unique historic site. The site of the former United States Lighthouse Service, home to five historic buildings and an underground cavern where whale oil was once stored to supply lights along the East Coast. In fact most of the historic lights along the Atlantic were born in the shops of the Lighthouse Depot.

More than a decade ago, New York rallied with the mayor’s office and the borough president’s office both pledging their support to bring the National Lighthouse Museum to New York City. A board of trustees was formed, money was raised, several of the buildings were protected from the elements, a website launched, and plans were laid to use the entire site for exhibits, libraries, classrooms and dining. The developer was enlisted and enthusiasm was high. Then…nothing.

In its immeasurable wisdom, the Economic Development Corporation managed to crush the project with the same iron handed tough love that has thus-far prevented any successful development of Staten Island’s North Shore from the ferry to Rosebank – primarily, the Lighthouse Depot and the abandoned Staten Island Navy Homeport site. Numerous plans and dreams have been stifled, from movie studios to multiple income housing. Nothing has come to fruition.

The good news is that the Lighthouse Museum’s treasurer has projected the funds raised to date, and if a new board is formed, there may be a head start on getting the funds together to begin work on the first structure. There is talk of an organization called Lighthouse Action and Mobilization Partners pulling together to get the project back on track. There are plenty of community leaders and arts administrators on Staten Island willing to get involved and pull this together, and perhaps they can do so without deeding much of the historic site to overbuilding and commercialization.

The story has been reported in the Staten Island Advance, and more info is online at the Lighthouse Action and Mobilization Planners [LAMP]. You can even check out the project overview at the old National Lighthouse Museum website, by visiting their site at the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Tags:   lighthouse, museum, staten island

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Posted on 10/10/2008 ( Permanent Link )
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