The Montauk Lighthouse Deserves Landmark Status. PERIOD.
I simply don’t understand why it is taking so long for the Montauk Lighthouse to achieve national landmark status. The Montauk Lighthouse is one of the oldest, most beautiful structures in America, and was commissioned by our first president, George Washington, in 1792. It is a great symbol for Long Island, the East End and all of New York State. It’s incredibly important to American history and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the U.S.
HOW DO YOU NOT MAKE THIS THING A HISTORICAL LANDMARK???
Last Thursday, things moved in the right direction when the landmarks committee of the National Park System Advisory Board recommended that it become a national landmark. This process has taken nearly six years thus far.
It bothers me that this has taken so long. This is an absolutely no-brainer. The Montauk Lighthouse Committee has been impressive with its diligence in moving this forward, and I’m looking forward to reporting the news one day that it is finally an official landmark. I can remember when this topic originally came up and was pursued actively by the committee and Joe Gaviola of Montauk. These people understand how important the lighthouse is to the country and to Montauk.
By the way, this time of year the lighthouse is lit up like a Christmas tree. Even without national landmark status, it’s spectacular. I highly recommend you head down there at night and have a look.
Here’s a video I took from 2008 when they first lit it up.