WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 84? No, 87. Oh my gosh, 87. Hi everybody, I'm 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.119 Emily. And I'm Vince. And this is The Lighthouse 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:24.679 Lowdown. I missed. Just seeing that I forgot 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:26.899 to look up how to pronounce something. But, you 00:00:26.899 --> 00:00:28.500 know, I'm only barely over the wheel to live 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:33.340 today, so I think. Hi, everybody. It's Wednesday? 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:37.240 Tuesday. Tuesday. It's a rough week so far. Happy 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.039 to be here with you. And you know what makes 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:42.079 it worse? I don't have a history, Bowie. No, 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:43.939 Bowie, that's all right. No, Bowie, no problem. 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:48.679 But we did get some more reviews as a result 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.920 of our bid in our Chris Point episode. So thank 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.960 you to all of you who left a review. for our 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.500 podcast, all positive. And none of that was on 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:01.840 our part by manipulation. That's nice. Well, 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.000 I mean, it was, but. Well, I mean, we asked for 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.280 reviews. If they happen to be all positive, that's 00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:07.900 great. I think we asked for five -star reviews. 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:12.700 That's where I think the manipulation came in. 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:15.239 Somebody's got to throw in a four -star so that 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:17.739 it's not suspicious. Yeah, they're like, they're 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:22.200 paying people for reviews. Except we're not. 00:01:23.629 --> 00:01:26.810 Since we have some reviews that were left, then 00:01:26.810 --> 00:01:29.989 Vince has got to start getting work on some merch. 00:01:30.189 --> 00:01:33.189 I say it every time. And then we'll do a giveaway 00:01:33.189 --> 00:01:35.349 of maybe like a t -shirt or a hat or something. 00:01:35.790 --> 00:01:38.609 Yep. Okay. Good. It's in the works, everybody. 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:42.950 Get ready. Fall is here, so it could be a, we 00:01:42.950 --> 00:01:44.750 could do a hoodie maybe. We'll see. Oh, I thought 00:01:44.750 --> 00:01:46.829 you were going to say like fall themed. I'd be 00:01:46.829 --> 00:01:51.129 down for, hey, I'm down for whatever. So in true 00:01:51.129 --> 00:01:53.030 Emily fashion, we're going to no history buoy 00:01:53.030 --> 00:01:56.489 and it's a tiny episode today. A short episode. 00:01:56.769 --> 00:01:58.750 A short episode. Yeah. Thank you for bringing 00:01:58.750 --> 00:02:00.469 that back. We love those. That's what I called 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:04.030 it. Our lighthouse today was one of the later 00:02:04.030 --> 00:02:07.170 towers built in the U .S. but has a unique design 00:02:07.170 --> 00:02:11.449 going on. Unique. Unique. A little bit of Latin 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:13.430 and dancer coming out of there. This is why I 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:16.949 didn't look up how to pronounce it. But we're 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:23.439 going to Connecticut, the town. It's like Groton. 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.520 How do you spell it? G -R -O -T -O -N. So it 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:31.539 could be like a lot of stuff. Groton. Groton. 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:37.639 Groton. Groton. Groton. Should we look it up, 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:40.860 you think? I don't know. Here, hold on. Hold, 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:44.430 please. I can't change. Let's say Groton. Okay, 00:02:44.469 --> 00:02:46.150 yeah. I mean, I never have to say it again. So 00:02:46.150 --> 00:02:48.610 it's not that it's, it's not that I'm messing 00:02:48.610 --> 00:02:52.530 it up. It's just that the world, that our listeners 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:54.990 won't know the answer. And they'll still look 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:57.870 it up themselves. Anyway, is this our first Connecticut 00:02:57.870 --> 00:03:00.430 lighthouse? I can't remember. We have to pull 00:03:00.430 --> 00:03:04.509 up the map. I feel like, genius. Why didn't I 00:03:04.509 --> 00:03:06.169 look at that? Wait. Yeah. For those of you who 00:03:06.169 --> 00:03:08.430 don't know, while we look at this, if you go 00:03:08.430 --> 00:03:11.500 to thelighthouselowdown .com. You're going to 00:03:11.500 --> 00:03:16.139 see a map under, is it resources? Episode map. 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:19.360 Episode map, of course, which shows a physical 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.000 map. And then you can click on locations, zoom 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.139 in, zoom out, and actually see what episode is 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:29.699 recorded for that location. And the answer is 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:32.860 that, yes, this is our first Connecticut lighthouse. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:40.469 Good job, everybody. Nice. Oh, I like it. Another 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:43.610 map. So we got a map pulled up showing Connecticut. 00:03:43.729 --> 00:03:47.750 We're right across from Montauk Point Lighthouse. 00:03:47.849 --> 00:03:51.509 We know this area. Long Island. Over on the right. 00:03:51.689 --> 00:03:56.349 Yeah, just inside the Connecticut line there. 00:03:57.409 --> 00:04:01.150 Cape Cod. We're looking at Avery Point where 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:05.270 that little thing, this little point is Avery 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:07.689 Point. Very nice. Avery Point was named after 00:04:07.689 --> 00:04:10.969 an early settler, Captain James Avery, which 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:16.430 the reason why I only just now realized why that's 00:04:16.430 --> 00:04:18.550 familiar to me is because all the jewelry I got 00:04:18.550 --> 00:04:21.250 in high school was from James Avery, the brand. 00:04:21.709 --> 00:04:24.629 His name was also James? It was just the brand 00:04:24.629 --> 00:04:27.790 name. But yes, Captain James Avery. Oh, must 00:04:27.790 --> 00:04:30.310 be the same person. I hope that was right. And 00:04:30.310 --> 00:04:32.699 that wasn't just like the sub cons, just... part 00:04:32.699 --> 00:04:34.480 of my brain coming out and being like, Avery, 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:39.000 it must be James. I don't know. I'm pretty sure 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:43.180 that's right. But he had 73 acres, like this 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:47.000 plot of land. And when he passed away, that was 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:50.740 given to a wealthy industrialist, Morton Plant. 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:55.279 Okay. And he died in 1918. So it wasn't until 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:58.660 1942 that the land was sold to the state of Connecticut, 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:01.930 which gave it to the Coast Guard to use. And 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:03.930 in the same year, they built the United States 00:05:03.930 --> 00:05:05.769 Coast Guard Training Center, which was there 00:05:05.769 --> 00:05:10.550 until 1967. So when they built this training 00:05:10.550 --> 00:05:12.870 center, they wanted a lighthouse to mark it. 00:05:12.910 --> 00:05:16.569 And also it was like on a point and it's right 00:05:16.569 --> 00:05:20.329 at the mouth of the Thames River. I'm assuming 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:23.790 it's the same as the one in England. Yeah. Thames. 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:27.389 And faces a tiny island called Pine Island, which 00:05:27.389 --> 00:05:29.310 you can see on our... Little map that we have 00:05:29.310 --> 00:05:31.529 pulled up. But also the lighthouse was a symbol 00:05:31.529 --> 00:05:35.350 of the Coast Guard's light keeping duties, which 00:05:35.350 --> 00:05:38.350 by that point were dwindling. Yeah. I mean, they 00:05:38.350 --> 00:05:41.350 had taken over in 39, but so it wasn't that long 00:05:41.350 --> 00:05:43.029 after that they were like, oh, let's build a 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:45.149 lighthouse to commemorate the fact that we are 00:05:45.149 --> 00:05:47.610 also lighthouse keepers. Did they use the lighthouse 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:51.370 that they erected for training purposes, perhaps? 00:05:51.790 --> 00:05:53.990 Maybe. It doesn't say anything about that. There 00:05:53.990 --> 00:05:57.569 wasn't much on the life of the lighthouse while 00:05:57.569 --> 00:06:00.240 it was. in the Coast Guard Training Center. Oh, 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.139 okay. Yeah. But it was also kind of like a memorial 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:06.699 for light keepers. And according to the Avery 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:09.000 Point Lighthouse Society, it was also built, 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:12.319 quote, to fulfill a contingency of the quit claim 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:15.480 deed, so for this land, for receiving the property 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.420 from the state of Connecticut and was the last 00:06:17.420 --> 00:06:19.240 lighthouse built in the state of Connecticut. 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:22.180 So we have our last lighthouse and the first 00:06:22.180 --> 00:06:25.000 one that we cover in Connecticut. So nice little 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.149 bookend there. Nice. So there was something in 00:06:28.149 --> 00:06:30.829 the deed that said that there had to be a lighthouse 00:06:30.829 --> 00:06:34.449 built. I don't know. Just interesting. While 00:06:34.449 --> 00:06:36.949 Avery Point Lighthouse was completed in 1943, 00:06:37.209 --> 00:06:40.490 worries about drawing in enemies from the water 00:06:40.490 --> 00:06:42.550 in World War II meant that it wasn't lit until 00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:46.350 May 2nd, 1944. And so the tower actually had, 00:06:46.449 --> 00:06:48.550 I think because it was so late, it had an unusual 00:06:48.550 --> 00:06:51.170 light characteristic, which was a cluster of 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:55.509 eight 200 -watt bulbs. So like nothing crazy. 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:59.220 Very low candle power. It's like a very symbolic 00:06:59.220 --> 00:07:01.899 lighthouse. Yeah, it's more just for show than 00:07:01.899 --> 00:07:04.959 for actual utility. The light list mentions that 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:07.680 the number of bulbs vary depending on your angle 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:12.000 of approach, which really points out that it's 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.160 not that powerful if you can pick out light bulbs 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.800 from each other, I think. It was originally fixed 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.399 to white and changed to a green flash every four 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:24.709 seconds in 1960. How did they do that if there 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:29.829 were individual bulbs? Probably electric current. 00:07:30.250 --> 00:07:34.230 In the 60s. They didn't have LEDs yet, so they 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:37.410 didn't have color -changing lights. No, but we 00:07:37.410 --> 00:07:39.550 had colored panels long before we had light bulbs. 00:07:39.730 --> 00:07:41.649 Oh, it was just green. It wasn't like changing. 00:07:41.750 --> 00:07:46.509 No, no, flashing. Never mind. How do they do 00:07:46.509 --> 00:07:47.889 that? I see now what you're saying. I thought 00:07:47.889 --> 00:07:49.670 you were saying like, yeah, in the 60s, they 00:07:49.670 --> 00:07:52.189 had color changing bulbs, which I'm not familiar 00:07:52.189 --> 00:07:54.569 with that. Yeah. No, none of that extra stuff. 00:07:54.769 --> 00:07:57.029 This looks militant, which I guess kind of makes 00:07:57.029 --> 00:07:59.910 sense. Yeah. Yeah. So Coast Guard. Avery Point 00:07:59.910 --> 00:08:03.689 is 41 feet tall and it's an octagonal tower made 00:08:03.689 --> 00:08:06.370 of concrete bricks. Same diameter from top to 00:08:06.370 --> 00:08:09.250 bottom until we hit the lantern room, which of 00:08:09.250 --> 00:08:11.930 course is a little smaller. And this lantern 00:08:11.930 --> 00:08:15.220 room is also octagonal. Decorative and made from 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:17.779 wood. That's unique. Yeah, the lantern gallery 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:20.540 was made from concrete and lined with 32 Italian 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:35.299 marble balusters. Balusters? Baluster? The balusters? 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:40.659 What is it? Ballast? Like a baluster? B -A... 00:08:41.219 --> 00:08:43.919 Balusters. Now you got me all tripped up. You 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.620 know there's the word banister. Yeah, yeah. It's 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:48.539 attached to that. Those are the long ones that 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:50.940 go from top to bottom. Now I want to look this 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:54.659 up. Like the black behind you. Yeah. On the staircase. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:00.919 Yeah. Staircase rods. Balusters. B -A -L -U -S 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:07.039 -T -E -R -S. Wait. Wait. No. Yes. Okay. Yeah. 00:09:07.500 --> 00:09:10.519 Those are still, like Home Depot has those. Yep. 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:13.700 Ballister. Ballister? Well, I just realized. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:20.279 Oh, hold on. Oh, no. Ballisters. Ballisters. 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:26.320 B -A -L -U -H -S -T -R -Z. Sorry, everyone. I 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.399 am not on top of everything all the time. I didn't 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:31.899 say it right either, did I? No, you did. Ballisters. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:36.509 From the hip. Like a banister. Huh? Like banister, 00:09:36.610 --> 00:09:42.070 which is the... So these balusters were imported 00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:45.750 from Italy in 1900. So they were like this nice 00:09:45.750 --> 00:09:47.870 little decorative addition, try and spice it 00:09:47.870 --> 00:09:50.870 up a little. Not much utility, but it's a looker. 00:09:51.070 --> 00:09:52.909 And that's what I have a picture pulled up of. 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:56.169 This picture is from when it was starting to 00:09:56.169 --> 00:10:02.840 get a little more decrepit. Concrete blocks and 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:04.740 stuff. I really slowed you down in the description 00:10:04.740 --> 00:10:07.740 of this lighthouse. But it's a recap. So it's 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:13.620 octagonal tower, 88 feet? 41 feet. All right. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.980 We're both tired. And it's the same diameter 00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:20.980 from the bottom to the top rail, which is brick. 00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:23.519 And then it turns into marble, they said, for 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.840 the balusters. It's all concrete. The balusters 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.879 are marble. Man, it looks like brick. Yeah, they're 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:33.460 concrete bricks. And then the lantern room itself 00:10:33.460 --> 00:10:36.879 is wood. Yeah, and wood. You said it's decorative. 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:42.019 So does that mean it's well -decorated or ornate? 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:45.960 Yeah, I mean, look at it. Look at arched windows. 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:50.720 We got some bar stuff going on here. Octagonal 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.720 cupola. We love it. Yeah, the cupola's always 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:58.059 been metal, though. Like, I've never heard of 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:02.000 a wood... I don't know if the cupola is wood. 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:05.159 Well, okay. The lantern room. I've never heard 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.379 of a wooden lantern room. Oh. Have I? Maybe not. 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:11.820 Yeah, I guess that's strange. So, pretty cool. 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:15.440 This looks like a home project. Oh. No, no. I 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:17.100 mean, like, with a lot of honor. I mean, like, 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:18.340 you could have this. How did you say that? Like, 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:21.820 you could put this in your backyard. Yeah, if 00:11:21.820 --> 00:11:24.600 you're rich. Yeah, rich, rich. Like, two riches. 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:28.110 Anyways. That's crazy. I did read that it has 00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:30.610 two windows facing south and one window facing 00:11:30.610 --> 00:11:33.389 every other direction. Kind of fun. Suspect. 00:11:34.210 --> 00:11:37.110 Suspect. It's just facing the water. A little 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:43.970 extra protect. So, yeah, that is the extent of 00:11:43.970 --> 00:11:47.190 what I have for when it was under the Coast Guard 00:11:47.190 --> 00:11:49.230 training center. Yes, just a couple years. Yeah, 00:11:49.370 --> 00:11:51.529 I mean, I guess they wouldn't be like, here's 00:11:51.529 --> 00:11:53.289 what we did with the lighthouse. It's just probably 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:55.210 like... Just happenstance. Yeah, they just do 00:11:55.210 --> 00:12:00.179 whatever they do. And it was deactivated in 1967 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.519 when the training center was moved from Avery 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:04.620 Point to Governor's Island in New York City, 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:06.639 which I think we talked about Governor's Island. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:10.779 Yes. In our Statue of Liberty episode. We did. 00:12:10.860 --> 00:12:13.059 Everybody go check it out. It was a lighthouse. 00:12:13.220 --> 00:12:17.000 It was a terrible lighthouse. Probably one of 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.759 the worst, but a lot more life left in it for 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.799 other purposes. You have to say about that. 1969. 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:28.509 Two years later, the land was returned at no 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:31.330 cost to the state of Connecticut. So Coast Guard 00:12:31.330 --> 00:12:34.049 finished with it and handed it back off. And 00:12:34.049 --> 00:12:36.789 the lighthouse was marked a building used at 00:12:36.789 --> 00:12:38.830 the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, 00:12:38.990 --> 00:12:42.429 which... Of course. Yeah. Local. So they marked 00:12:42.429 --> 00:12:44.289 it, I think it was building, it was either 14 00:12:44.289 --> 00:12:48.230 or building 41. And they used that as a physics 00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:51.580 laboratory and air sampling station. I'm like, 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:55.320 so cool. Can you imagine if you went to college 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:57.320 and they were like, oh yeah, the physics lab 00:12:57.320 --> 00:12:59.960 is in the lighthouse. I'd be like, excuse me. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:01.740 Yeah, they're probably dropping shit in there. 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:08.620 Yeah. Acid. I was thinking like gravity. Like 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:11.519 they have a high point to drop things from. Maybe 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:16.559 a pendulum could be going on. Air sampling so 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:18.590 they can go up there and be like. Fourth grade 00:13:18.590 --> 00:13:20.889 physics? What's the air? They drop stuff from 00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:23.750 high up and there's a pendulum. 1969, we landed 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:27.470 on the moon, supposedly. Allegedly. Allegedly. 00:13:29.950 --> 00:13:32.549 I'm really reaching here. Air sampling lab, huh? 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:36.149 Yeah. And this is a picture I pulled up. This 00:13:36.149 --> 00:13:41.750 woman is doing maintenance on their air sampling. 00:13:42.110 --> 00:13:44.049 But this is a more modern picture. This is after 00:13:44.049 --> 00:13:46.250 renovation and everything. So it looks pretty 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:49.220 good. We're going to be chasing that. Very cool. 00:13:49.379 --> 00:13:52.980 By 1997, because during that time, I don't think 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:57.340 anybody was in charge of upkeep. So 1997, the 00:13:57.340 --> 00:14:00.679 university labeled the lighthouse as in dangerously 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:04.100 poor condition. And by 1999, the American Lighthouse 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:07.120 Foundation and the newly formed Avery Point Lighthouse 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:10.019 Society began fundraising for the restoration 00:14:10.019 --> 00:14:12.679 to bring it back to its future glory. And the 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:14.700 university gave them permission to work on it. 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:17.080 So they still... owned it but we're like sure 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.500 fix it up oh that's nice we're cool with it so 00:14:20.500 --> 00:14:24.159 i pulled up a photo of what it used to look like 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:29.460 this is uh from my understanding there used to 00:14:29.460 --> 00:14:33.799 be i mean the lantern room was still up there 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:36.259 it ain't got no time oh and then they took it 00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:40.179 off okay because wait let me this let me i'm 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:41.740 getting too far into my notes i just want to 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:47.350 like The assessment was estimated to be $25 ,000. 00:14:47.470 --> 00:14:49.590 So just like looking at it and being like, here's 00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:51.370 what we have to do with it. Dang. And then the 00:14:51.370 --> 00:14:54.269 restoration was going to be at the high end $200 00:14:54.269 --> 00:14:58.590 ,000 from what they were estimating. An engineering 00:14:58.590 --> 00:15:01.769 firm did the study, which ended up being worth 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:05.629 an estimated $40 ,000 totally for free just to 00:15:05.629 --> 00:15:08.490 help out. And for the restoration, the funds 00:15:08.490 --> 00:15:11.259 that were raised were like... Raised by selling 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:14.460 2 ,000 personalized bricks that would make up 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:16.759 the walkway of the lighthouse. Which I know St. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.740 Augustine does that as well, right? I think so. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:24.840 I think it's a great idea because people, it's 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:27.240 hard sometimes for people to donate because it's 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:30.019 like your money goes into the ether and you're 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:33.299 like, are you using it? Well, yeah. Sometimes 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:36.139 when it's so expensive, these big projects, it 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:38.500 feels like you can't contribute. And of course, 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:40.940 that's actually... The best contributions are 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:45.139 crowdsourced from a bunch of enthusiasts. I actually 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:47.039 have a brick with my name on it somewhere. What 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.840 are you talking about? I do. Where? Hayes, Kansas. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:53.059 Oh, my gosh. With your family or just you? My 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:56.279 family, but my name has my own brick. Oh, my 00:15:56.279 --> 00:15:59.860 gosh. On the public library on the left side 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:03.100 if you're so inclined to go find it. Why didn't 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:04.740 you show me that when we first started dating? 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.519 That would have gotten you a lot of extra points. 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:12.269 I would have been like, you're famous. i'll keep 00:16:12.269 --> 00:16:14.049 that in mind next time we're in haze we'll make 00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:17.649 a stop there's also um i'm sure there's many 00:16:17.649 --> 00:16:20.909 of them but there is a statue of liberty nearby 00:16:20.909 --> 00:16:24.149 that it's about eight feet tall anyways back 00:16:24.149 --> 00:16:29.110 to connecticut back to back to emily in connecticut 00:16:29.110 --> 00:16:35.940 thank you vince Pretend we're not sitting across 00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:38.519 from each other, three feet away. Like we're 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.059 in a news channel. And we'll go back to Emily 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:44.360 covering Connecticut lighthouses. All I was saying 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.600 is that I am much more likely to donate when 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.059 it's like, I could go to the lighthouse in the 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:52.000 future and be like, oh my gosh, here's a brick 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.419 with my name on it. Yep. And you know, everyone 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:56.600 likes to get something for what they put in. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.940 Yeah. Even if it's just like a, I don't know, 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:01.629 a sticker. I'd be like, cool. Like a sticker 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:03.490 that says I donated. I would be like, hell yeah. 00:17:03.610 --> 00:17:07.190 Well, like the USLHS passport system that we 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:09.650 adore so much. Like you donate, what is it, $2? 00:17:09.990 --> 00:17:12.490 And then you get a stamp. I'm a different member 00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:14.490 level this year because I wanted a different 00:17:14.490 --> 00:17:17.789 patch. So I'm a keeper, I believe. You're renewed? 00:17:18.170 --> 00:17:20.950 I need to renew. I forgot. Is it time? It was 00:17:20.950 --> 00:17:24.410 a long time ago. Everybody, renew your passports. 00:17:24.829 --> 00:17:29.789 No, well, not the passport. I forget. I'm selling 00:17:29.789 --> 00:17:32.509 them short. But they give you a patch. The membership 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.930 for the USLHS. Sorry. Which level did you do? 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:37.390 Was it Prism? No, no, no. That's above where 00:17:37.390 --> 00:17:39.789 I'm at. I'm Keeper now. Okay. Last year I was 00:17:39.789 --> 00:17:45.150 the first one. I have it somewhere. Anyways, 00:17:45.269 --> 00:17:47.230 these patches, I'll have to do something with 00:17:47.230 --> 00:17:49.250 them at some point. I really want to do Prism. 00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:51.710 I wanted like a field jacket with the patches 00:17:51.710 --> 00:17:54.829 on it. Like you were talking about a long time 00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.990 ago. Long time ago. Never came to fruition. Anyways. 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:01.049 We're really off topic. Okay, sorry. I just said 00:18:01.049 --> 00:18:03.529 patches aren't fun. Yeah, personalized bricks, 00:18:03.789 --> 00:18:07.069 and that's how we got there. Then the concrete 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:10.130 blocks in the lighthouse, as you can see, are 00:18:10.130 --> 00:18:15.309 misshapen. And it's because they had high sand 00:18:15.309 --> 00:18:17.990 content. So over time, they had started to crumble. 00:18:19.049 --> 00:18:21.430 So these were addressed first. So the first thing 00:18:21.430 --> 00:18:23.769 they did was replace the entire outer layer completely. 00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:27.650 And make new concrete blocks with custom molds 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:30.349 so that they perfectly match the original bricks. 00:18:30.710 --> 00:18:33.849 Yeah. That's extra. And they strengthened the 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:36.190 inside with steel and cement. So they left the 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:38.589 ones on the inside. But obviously with the sea, 00:18:38.769 --> 00:18:41.349 air and everything, the outside ones were a lot 00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:43.809 more affected. Huh. I've never heard of that 00:18:43.809 --> 00:18:46.930 process. Yeah. I'd like to know what a custom 00:18:46.930 --> 00:18:51.210 mold looks like for concrete blocks. Well, I 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:54.680 know. Um, if you look up like a custom home, 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:58.279 uh, fireplace, like a stone, like my dad's, that 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:00.700 one, for example, that that's all concrete. And 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:03.420 so each one of those was shaped by hand, um, 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:07.240 after a form was used. Yeah. So I assume they 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:08.940 could make a general form and then they like 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:10.920 make it look rugged with their hands. Okay. Yeah. 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:14.059 So lightweight concrete, cause it's not structural 00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:16.480 this way or on the lighthouse. I'm not sure. 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.700 It might be a little heavier, but pretty cool. 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:20.500 Something that'll last. It's a lot of effort 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:22.859 that went into that. Yeah. So this is what I 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:25.660 was about to run away with. But the lantern room 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:28.059 was deemed too damaged to repair. So instead, 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:31.099 they lifted it by crane off of the lighthouse 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:34.380 and transported it to West Mystic Wooden Boat 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:37.220 Building Company, which is owned by a former 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:39.859 lighthouse keeper and at the time, an English 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:41.940 professor at the University of Connecticut. Oh 00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:46.980 my gosh. So we had like a very focused connection 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:51.190 to this lighthouse. Can you say that again? Wood 00:19:51.190 --> 00:19:56.049 building? West Mystic Wooden Boat Building Company. 00:19:56.450 --> 00:20:00.269 My gosh. So I'm assuming they make boats, but 00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:01.890 I guess I didn't look too deep into it. That's 00:20:01.890 --> 00:20:07.490 a mouthful of a website. Yeah. WMWBBC. Yeah. 00:20:07.609 --> 00:20:11.109 Okay. Yeah. So anyway, he was invested and thus 00:20:11.109 --> 00:20:14.150 he did it completely for free. Oh, nice. Yeah. 00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:17.920 Rebuilt the... lantern room using the old one 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.319 as a template. That's really cool. Yeah. And 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:22.180 did it all for free. So the new lantern room 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:25.900 was lowered onto the tower in 2005 and the inside 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:27.640 had to be completely redone. Like the inside 00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:30.140 of the tower, they needed new wiring, custom 00:20:30.140 --> 00:20:32.819 doors and windows, paint, cosmetics, all that 00:20:32.819 --> 00:20:35.859 stuff. Very fancy. Yeah. So it's still on a university. 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:40.740 Yes. And I just pulled up a photo of the, I think 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:42.319 it was 2009 or something. Someone took these 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:45.049 pictures. Beautiful. So very nice. You can see 00:20:45.049 --> 00:20:48.230 the red brick walkway that has people's names 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:50.329 on it that donated to the restoration. Shout 00:20:50.329 --> 00:20:52.430 out to those people. Yeah, it's very pretty. 00:20:52.509 --> 00:20:55.450 I like the colors a lot. It's like natural, but 00:20:55.450 --> 00:21:00.349 not just not plain. It's really nice. Honestly, 00:21:00.589 --> 00:21:03.349 this it's been put into my head, but it really 00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:05.950 looks like a setting of a university. It does 00:21:05.950 --> 00:21:07.930 look like a university lighthouse. It's like. 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:11.319 When old universities have towers built to the 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.500 side, I get that same vibe. So it's interesting 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:17.500 that it wasn't built originally for a university, 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.779 but it does have those. Well, and Emily and I 00:21:20.779 --> 00:21:23.460 both went to University of Kansas, which has 00:21:23.460 --> 00:21:26.559 a tower called the Campanile, whatever you want 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:28.680 to call it. It's a French word, I think. Anyways, 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.700 it looks a lot like a lighthouse. Fresnel, Fresnel, 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:35.839 Fresnel. Yes. Fresnel. And it's made of limestone. 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:38.309 Most of the... properties of the university of 00:21:38.309 --> 00:21:41.789 kansas are limestone um so that's probably what 00:21:41.789 --> 00:21:43.670 we're seeing here it's a lot of it's very much 00:21:43.670 --> 00:21:47.809 a limestone color it's cute yeah it's nice right 00:21:47.809 --> 00:21:49.710 on the water yeah and a lot of this the work 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:52.150 that they did people either gave them discounts 00:21:52.150 --> 00:21:57.069 or gave them or did it for free so i'm where 00:21:57.069 --> 00:22:00.029 a normal restoration in which you basically rebuild 00:22:00.029 --> 00:22:02.509 the entire lighthouse would be millions of dollars 00:22:02.509 --> 00:22:06.069 these days i think this one was 500 000 At the 00:22:06.069 --> 00:22:10.410 end of everything. So still a lot, but probably 00:22:10.410 --> 00:22:13.849 like a third of what it would have cost. Yeah. 00:22:13.930 --> 00:22:17.230 If people weren't like pouring everything they 00:22:17.230 --> 00:22:19.089 had. There's so much money involved. I know. 00:22:19.750 --> 00:22:22.890 500 ,000. But if you try and think really hard 00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:26.490 about the past numbers we've heard for lighthouse 00:22:26.490 --> 00:22:28.789 restorations, it's not that bad. It's actually 00:22:28.789 --> 00:22:33.430 great. The question is like, just from my curiosity, 00:22:33.569 --> 00:22:36.029 let's say you wanted to build a 40. Foot tall? 00:22:36.410 --> 00:22:39.670 Yeah, 41. 41 foot tall. Let's call it 40. Okay. 00:22:39.670 --> 00:22:42.150 Let's call it 40. Sure. A 40 foot tall lighthouse. 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:47.690 Yeah. Like made out of brick or steel and concrete. 00:22:47.869 --> 00:22:49.910 And yeah, like, you know, the modern construction 00:22:49.910 --> 00:22:54.009 with a wood lantern room and potentially cupola. 00:22:55.849 --> 00:22:57.670 If you're like, how much is it going to cost 00:22:57.670 --> 00:23:01.349 me? I was like, uh, half a million dollars sounds 00:23:01.349 --> 00:23:05.559 like too much, but I'm wrong. Clearly. It's a 00:23:05.559 --> 00:23:13.279 four -story tower, okay? You're wrong. I am wrong. 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:15.059 If anyone out there wants to provide us a quote 00:23:15.059 --> 00:23:18.420 to build that lighthouse, please do. That'd be 00:23:18.420 --> 00:23:20.019 fun to share, actually. It actually would be. 00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:22.259 Even if you want to remain anonymous. You work 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:24.880 in an engineering firm, so actually you'd have 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:26.500 a pretty good idea of how to estimate something 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:29.220 like that. Talk to people and be like, hey, here's 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:31.839 the blueprints for this lighthouse. What would 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:35.039 you build this for? That'd be hilarious. Price 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.079 it up. Price it right up. Got to prove how good 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:44.640 the discounts were on this construction. They're 00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:46.099 going to be like, it was going to be $5 million. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:50.319 Actually, it's just $500 ,000. It's easy. But 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.140 they completed it and relit as a private aid. 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:58.640 Private aid to Navigation. To Navigation, October 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:04.500 15, 2006. That's crazy. Yes. It's awesome. So 00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:07.019 we still have a green flashing light, but now 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:10.380 it's a solar -powered LED. Oh, I have a picture. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.920 Very nice. You can see the university's greenhouse 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:17.039 and all kinds of fun stuff. That's cool. It's 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:20.940 still being cared and loved today. The grounds 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:24.880 are open to the public, so you can just go check 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.700 this out whenever you want, but the lighthouse 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:29.140 cannot be climbed or entered because it's private. 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:32.869 Travesty. Got to save it for those physics tests. 00:24:32.869 --> 00:24:36.289 The university owns it? Yeah. Yeah. I'm pretty 00:24:36.289 --> 00:24:38.730 sure. I wonder if they use it for anything on 00:24:38.730 --> 00:24:42.730 an annual basis. If they decorate it or. Oh, 00:24:42.730 --> 00:24:45.309 I did see some Christmas decorations. I saw Santa 00:24:45.309 --> 00:24:49.809 visited and played a saxophone. Of course he 00:24:49.809 --> 00:24:53.130 did. Santas that go to lighthouses are always 00:24:53.130 --> 00:24:56.549 like the outskirt Santas. That's a very artistic 00:24:56.549 --> 00:25:00.259 Santa. Yeah. Remember the. Well, Christmas is 00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:02.420 kind of coming up. Do you remember the Flying 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:05.400 Santa episode? Yes. Super fun. Yeah, and then 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:09.039 I started doing Christmas at Lighthouses. Today, 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:12.799 this year is going to be our third installment 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:17.759 of that. So buckle up. Maybe we'll see this lighthouse 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:20.920 at every point. Yeah, last one. Did we talk about 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.420 St. Augustine? Mm -hmm. Nice. That might have 00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:25.720 even been the first one. Oh, the first Christmas 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:27.640 at Lighthouses. Yeah, we talked about all of 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:30.279 their... There are Christmas trees you can walk 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:31.579 around. Yeah, the tree inside. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:34.940 Cool. But yeah, that's it. Avery Point Lighthouse. 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:37.779 Got it all covered. A lot of people, even though 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:39.579 it's newer, a lot of people love this lighthouse 00:25:39.579 --> 00:25:43.579 because it's unique in its appearance. I wonder 00:25:43.579 --> 00:25:46.640 if it's the only lighthouse that is on university 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:53.630 grounds. I doubt it. I feel like... I feel like 00:25:53.630 --> 00:25:55.049 that'd be hard to research because you know how 00:25:55.049 --> 00:25:56.950 AI pops up and it's like, here's what I found. 00:25:57.069 --> 00:26:00.230 It's like, you just pieced together words. I'll 00:26:00.230 --> 00:26:06.150 use that as the excuse for why you didn't laugh 00:26:06.150 --> 00:26:08.490 at my joke. Yeah, I was busy yawning. It's not 00:26:08.490 --> 00:26:11.089 personal. Avery Point Lighthouse, the first one 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:16.569 that popped up. Boom, confirmed. Lots of posts 00:26:16.569 --> 00:26:22.349 about it. Avery Point. Milne. Berg Lighthouse, 00:26:22.490 --> 00:26:28.029 also known as Port Potchartrain. Why did I do 00:26:28.029 --> 00:26:34.369 this to myself? Anyway, from my slight scrolling, 00:26:34.650 --> 00:26:37.470 it seems to be one of the few, at the very least, 00:26:37.490 --> 00:26:40.569 if not the only one. That's good. At least there's 00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:42.930 more than one. We have lighthouses on golf courses, 00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:48.400 lighthouses on universities. What's next? What 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:50.319 could be coming next? And that's how we'll keep 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.339 you guys looped into the Lighthouse Lowdown. 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:54.299 And you'll catch us next time. What could be 00:26:54.299 --> 00:26:57.319 coming next? And the answer to that is merch, 00:26:57.500 --> 00:26:59.700 apparently. Merch. So keep an eye out for that. 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:02.940 And check out our website, thelighthouselowdown 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:06.839 .com, where you can leave a review or watch our 00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:10.339 videos, listen to our podcasts, and you can check 00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:14.539 out our episode map. Yeah. In this episode, so... 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:17.220 We're hoping that we're going to catch you next 00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:21.759 time on The Lighthouse. Thanks for coming.