St. George, Staten Island in 1927. The Lighthouse Depot and boat basin in the foreground, ferry terminal above and then the railroad yard where the new minor league baseball stadium will be built.

In addition to our museum, the 2-mile stretch of waterfront, crowned St. George Station by Borough President Guy Molinari, will become the future home of a totally-renovated ferry terminal, a world-class arts and sciences museum, the minor league Staten Island Yankees baseball club, restaurants and marinas. Plans are afoot to develop the former Navy Homeport area, sought after for the creation of movie studios, recreation facilities and hotels. The jewel of the renaissance, our own NLM, will be in the midst of all this, connected by the North Shore Esplanade.

Our stepping stone, the Ferry Terminal, expects to receive an infusion of $81MM in City and State funds. Multi-level commercial space, state-of-the-art information systems and enhanced commuter services are being designed. Glass-surrounded walkways will

provide tourists and natives alike with unparalled views of the harbor. The Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences Museum, alone, is expected to draw 500,000 visitors per year. Visually challenging the Sydney Opera House in Australia, this modern glass and steel structure will be the perfect foil for our restored, historic buildings. Both will benefit.

St. George Station will thus be the center of a 21st-century re-birth. This confluence of upgrading, spectacular modern design and studied resurrection of the Lighthouse Depot will serve us well. We can be proud of our contribution to what will surely be a top-priority stop for all New York City tourists.

The Romer Shoal Lighthouse

Romer Shoal is a lighthouse in the Lower Bay of NY Harbor. A couple of years ago, Holly Stephenson, comparing photographs of Romer Shoal and the experimental lighthouse at the Staten Island Depot site, noticed the similarity between the the two, both in physical form and the dates at which the depot light was dismantled (1898) and Romer Shoal was put into service (1899).

Well, Wayne Wheeler has been digging into the records and found documentation that Romer was indeed the original Depot Lighthouse.

This is more than just a curiosity -- Romer is on the doomsday list of endangered lighthouses. We have a long-range plan to relocate it to the Depot. The fact that it came from the Depot in the first place now provides us with an historical as well as a practical justification for the move.

Another "Big Check" for the National Lighthouse  Museum! Marilyn Gelber, Executive Director of the Independence Community Foundation awards a $50,000 grant. On the left is Lawrence J. De Maria, Pres. & CEO SI Chamber of Commerce, Gelber, then Henry Stephenson, Rita Cronin, and Chan Graham from NLM.

Congressman Mark Souder Visits the Site

Like a lot of us, the Honorable Mark Souder, Congressman from Indiana, is fascinated by lighthouses. In the company of Congressman Vito J. Fossella he visited the museum site on Thursday, July 8th with his daughter. Along with several members of the NLM Board he later visited the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden at the Botanical Garden in Snug Harbor, Staten Island. Congressman Souder has been accepted as a member of the NLM Board of Directors.

A Letter to NLM

We hear many stories from our members. This letter from H. Emery Sterling, of Savannah, GA, struck us as particularly interesting.

I believe that the Staten Island location for the NLM was a wise choice, and marvel that the property was not crumbled by a wrecker' s ball. How fortunate we all are for this. I have a special interest in the Staten Island Depot. Although I have been there only once, my visit stands out in my memory.

During the Fall of 1934, while a crew member of the USLHS tender HIBISCUS based at Portland, Maine, we were assigned the task of towing two lightships that were being transferred from the Great Lakes to New York. A tender from the lakes towed the ships to Quebec, where we met them. We then went on to complete the voyage via the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, around Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine to our destination - Staten Island.

Our trip was long and not without frustration and difficulty, including gale-force winds off Nova Scotia (with 2 vessels towed in tandem) and poorly-burning bunker coal taken on in Canada. Loss of steam pressure under these conditions is an engineer's nightmare, not to mention all other crew members.

After delivering the lightships, the HIBISCUS stayed at the Depot a few days, giving us the opportunity to forget our recent towing ordeal and to take in the sights and sounds of New York City - the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the subways, etc.

All of this was awe-inspiring to a young person fresh from the coast of Maine, and this experience was made possible by our stay at Staten Island. I remained in the Lighthouse Service and Coast Guard until retirement in 1965. It is now my hope to re-visit the Depot someday and see it as a museum.

Sincerely,
H. Emery Sterling
CWO-4 USCG, Retired

Do you have an interesting personal story relating to lighthouses in general or our Depot, specifically? Or maybe you know someone else who does. We'd love to hear from you, as we hope to occasionally include this kind of material in the newsletter.

The LV-118 Lightship

The lightship LV-118 was built in 1938 at Boothbay Maine, the last lightship designed and built by the Lighthouse Service before the Coast Guard took over building lightships. She served, from 1938-1957, as the Cornfield Point lightship off the entrance to the Connecticut River. From 1958-1962 she served as the Cross Rip lightship in Nantucket Sound. She served as Boston lightship from 1962-1972, when she was retired. Donated by the Coast Guard to the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes Delaware, she now sits there, silted in. The name "Overfalls" is painted on her side in honor of the lightship station nearest to Lewes. The 118 however, never served on this station.

She is one of only 15 surviving American lightships out of 179 built. 

- Jerry Roberts, NLM Board Member

Borders Books' Lighthouse Photo Contest

If you find yourself in the Long Island, NY area, get out your camera and enter the lighthouse-photo competition being run by the Borders Books and Music stores. Diana Hannan, Regional Sales Manager, developed this promotion, running from September 1, through October 31, to celebrate Long Island's 16 lighthouses. Each of the 6 Long Island branches of Borders has a "Local Interest" section, where you'll find the contest rules.

For amateurs only, entries will be judged by Ralph Pugliese, renowned lighthouse photographer. Who knows? You might win a gift certificate for Gayle Haines' Lighthouse Safari Tours or publication on a postcard to be sold exclusively at Borders!

Complete information is available from Ms. Hannan by e-mail at dhannan@bordersgroupinc.com or by phoning her at (516)642-1336.

Floating the Apple to the NLM Pier

There were 3 of them, and on May 22 they cut smartly through the waters of NY Harbor to visit the NLCM. "They" were modern replicas of a four-oared 19th-century craft called a Whitehall gig.

A not-for-profit group called Floating the Apple, was founded by archeologist Michael Davis in 1993, to build these 25-foot graceful vessels. His purpose? To celebrate universal access to NYC's richest asset, its waterways. The maritime event, called the John Magnus Row, memorialized the 14-year-old winning coxswain of a May, 1825 race, considered the start of American water sports. NLM welcomed them and duly noted that one of the boats, the Kate Walker, was named for the keeper of the Robbins Reef Light, off our northeastern shore. Just for a moment, we were transported to our beginnings. 

A Digital Photo Archive for NLM

We are beginning to collect photographs and artifacts that will form an archive of lighthouse history. As photographs are found, we are scanning them for a digital file that will, at some future date, be available for research and public use. The photos below are from a file of that was given to NLM by the New York Historical Society. Other photos have come from the National Archives and the Coast Guard Archives in Washington, D. C. We would like to have copies of any photos that you have on hand to add to this collection. They can be scanned and the originals returned. Call us at (718) 556-1681.

NLM Board of Directors

Brendan Sexton, President
Judith M. Hoffman, First Vice President
Ralph Eshelman, Second Vice President
Wayne Wheeler, Treasurer
Channell Graham, AIA Secretary
Henry Stephenson, AIA Project Director
Dr. William Baker
Chris Benbow, Esq.
Cliff Benfield*
Capt. Richard Bennis, CG*
Ken Black
Cesar Claro
Virgil Conway*
James Dunlap
Dr. Loren Graham
Dr. Gayle Haines
Thomas Laverty
Michael Martin*
Valerie Nelson, MD
Jerry Roberts
Maurice Shaw*
Rep. Mark Souder*

*WELCOME TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Capt. Richard Bennis, CG - oversees Coast Guard operations for the Port of New York

Cliff Benfield - President, Horton Point Lighthouse & Nautical Museum

Michael Martin - President, SportsMark, Inc.

Maurice Shaw - Board member, Richmond County Savings Foundation

Virgil Conway - Chair, NY Metropolitan Transit Authority

Rep. Mark Souder - US Congress; sub-committees: National Parks/Public Lands; Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans