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"Group aims to save FH structure"

The News-Herald - April 29, 2006 By Brandon Baker

There is now a name to attach to efforts of a group of community leaders and officials planning to take over ownership, management and maintenance of the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse.Group members unanimously decided Friday that "Fairport Lights" would be a concise and memorable name when they submit an application to the U.S. General Services Administration in September.

"We decided to go with that name because it was very descriptive," said Brian Fowler, head of the Lake Metroparks recreation department.That's what they're usually looking for in the application."

The lighthouse is currently inventoried by the U.S. Coast Guard. But the federal government is seeking to divest itself of the structure. Fowler said group member Max P. Lammers of Mayfield Village is working to set up a nonprofit entity.
Fairport Lights would need to have that designation by the time the application is submitted. A nonprofit entity would have to yield maintenance of the structure's revolving navigational light and foghorn. Those items would remain the duty of the U.S. Coast Guard's Station Fairport Harbor.

The group's first event as Fairport Lights was a full tour of the two-story lighthouse on the west side of the mouth of the Grand River, adjacent to Headlands Beach State Park. Members envision the dilapidated structure, which looks every bit of its 61 years of age, becoming an attractive tourist site after renovations.

"It'll be a huge draw for a lot of people, and educational," said Mark Welch, president of the Lake County Historical Society. "It's just a unique opportunity."

The tour revealed space on either side of the light for a lush view of Lake Erie and Lake County. The inside contained bare rooms that, decades ago, were bedrooms, kitchens and a restroom. The opportunity to revamp the house would only come after a lengthy process, which includes an 80-page application. Fairport Lights has split into two committees - application and financing - to the make the job easier. The group has not set a timeline for completion, said John Ollila, a Fairport Harbor Marine Museum trustee. After looking at other coastal projects, like one in Lorain, Ollila estimates the house will take at least $1 million to renovate.

"We want it to look the way it did in the 1930s," Ollila said. "There were actually living quarters inside."

©The News-Herald 2008

Some Photos Courtesy Rona Proudfoot - All Other Rights Reserved - © 2006 Fairport Lights
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