The United States is giving away and selling lighthouses around the country in an effort to preserve them, USA Today reported. In an annual event, that the administration dubs ''lighthouse season,'' 10 lighthouses properties are on offer this year.
Six of these lighthouses will be offered at no cost to federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofits, educational agencies, and community development organizations, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) said. The GSA added that if the six lighthouses cannot be transferred to owners, they will also be put up for online auction
Four will go on public auction so anyone can fulfill their lighthouse dreams.
The goal of the transfers is to preserve historic buildings, even as technology renders them obsolete. Because of modern technology, including GPS, lighthouses have become less essential to navigation and many have been either demolished or have fallen into neglect.
''Lighthouses have long served as beacons for those at sea or on inland waters, marking dangerous coastlines and underwater hazards such as rocks and reefs as well as marking safe entries to harbors. As technology advanced, and lighthouses became less essential to navigation, lighthouses often fell into neglect or were demolished,'' GSA wrote.
''People really appreciate the heroic role of the solitary lighthouse keeper. They were really the instruments to provide safe passage into some of these perilous harbors which afforded communities great opportunities for commerce, and they're often located in prominent locations that offer breathtaking views,” John Kelly of the GSA's office of real property disposition told The Guardian.
Some of the lighthouses purchased in the past have been converted into private residences by people who want a unique living situation.
''They all have their own interesting history,'' Mr Kelly added.
Since the passage of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000, the GSA has been transferring ownership of lighthouses ''no longer critical to the U.S. Coast Guard's mission needs'' to groups willing to preserve them, according to a statement from the agency.
So far, 150 lighthouses have been transferred, 80 have been given away and another 70 auctioned, raising more than $10m.
