Ted Panayotoff writes that he has been working on “the restoration of the Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse in Oswego, NY.  The H. Lee White Maritime Museum has leased the light from the City that owns it and the Museum has taken on the restoration project, which I head.”

“We are currently working with the City of Oswego in applying for a grant from the State of NY to do restoration work on the exterior of the lighthouse structure which is badly needed. This work is beyond the capability of volunteer work crews and will need to be done by a professional contractor with all the appropriate certificates due to lead paint, etc.  Our volunteers have probably put in around 2000 hours of work over the past 3 years (during the 5 month working season) but we cannot take this project on. Receipt of this grant is therefore key to progress with the restoration.”

“A topic that has come up in discussions between the City and the State is the anticipated economic impact of the restored lighthouse to the City and surrounding area. We anticipate that, starting this year, we will be able to offer some limited public tours to the lighthouse on special occasions. These tours have to be done by boat as that is the only means for access. We see the number of these tours expanding in the years ahead.”

“Would the American Lighthouse Council or any of your other lighthouse contacts have any data that could assist us answering the question of what the local economic impact would be given the lighthouse was restored and was accessible by boat tours? Do you know of any other lighthouse organizations that have attempted to answer such a question?”

“Any help you can give us would be most welcome.”

Ted can be contacted at <keepertedp@gmail.com>