This is a fascinating article, and one of few on HN that I feel uniquely qualified to discuss :) Three of the lights mentioned in the article are ones which I

This is a fascinating article, and one of few on HN that I feel uniquely qualified to discuss :) Three of the lights mentioned in the article are ones which I was responsible for maintaining with the US Coast Guard a decade ago. Lynde Point in particular was one of my favorites (you can see it easily from I-95 as you cross the Connecticut River). The house nearby was used as Coast Guard provided housing for one of the Chiefs on the base. The sale/divestment of lighthouses has been going on for some time, I recall ferrying prospective buyers to Latimer Reef light back then. The problem is, as other commenters have pointed out, that these structures are simply falling apart, often containing hazardous materials such as asbestos, and more critically are generally difficult to land a boat at. We managed to ding a prop on at least one occasion on the rocks at Race Rock light. It's certainly ideal to set up a foundation which maintains the structure and grounds as well as providing a historically significant place for visitors to see. Some lights in the area are set up beautifully like this (I can think of Huntington Harbor NY, Falkner's Island, and New London Ledge lights off the top of my head). There are a few which are completely private as well. I'll never forget walking through the beautiful house at Dean Kamen's unique North Dumpling Island "nation". The fact of the matter is that while a lit navigation aid is still absolutely critical for maritime safety, it no longer needs to be housed in a large structure providing shelter for equipment and a keeper. With the advent of LED technology, it's trivial to mount a small solar panel with a storage battery the same size as a car's. This makes the lighthouse structures themselves only a burden for the Coast Guard to care for, which we absolutely did not have the resources for.