For those of you who've watched some of the shows that they do on unique homes around the country, you've likely seen one or two of the homes that are lighthouses.
If you've always thought that would be really cool, we've got a lighthouse here in Portsmouth Harbor that might be right up your alley!
Whaleback Lighthouse is actually in Kittery Maine, although many in Portsmouth New Hampshire consider it their tiny little lighthouse.
Whaleback is being offered by the US Coast Guard. Unfortunately, for those of us who live here and fortunately for some lucky person, the Coast Guard has deemed this lighthouse to be in 'excess of their needs'. Homeland Security issues have stretched the Coast Guard in so many other areas that the budget just doesn't allow them to properly maintain these types of historic structures.
~~ Whaleback Lighthouse can just barely be seen in the center of this picture above the rocks ~~
With the advent of automated beacons many years ago, lighthouse keepers haven't been needed like they were in the past. And because of that, they've determined that their needs today aren't the same as they were when all these lighthouses were built.
Whaleback Lighthouse is a great symbol of history to those who call this area home. "One-of-a-kind historic waterfront property, 59 feet high, with unobstructed views. Charming circular floor plan. Lots of light. Offered 'as is'." This is the wording from the write-up in our local paper, The Portsmouth Herald.
Whaleback was built sometime between 1829 and 1831, per order of President Andrew Jackson, and it marks the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor, which it was built to protect. The price to build this landmark back then was $21,000 - a lot of money then, a mere drop in the bucket today, that's for sure! In the late 1840's, another $25,000 was spent to re-furbish the lighthouse,
In 1872, a new lighthouse was erected on that site, as the previous one had been deemed too dangerous due to cracks in the foundation and in the tower. The cost to rebuild then was $75,000. In 2002 the rotating light beacons that were put in place in 1963 were replaced with smaller beacons that allowed for the conversion to solar power.
The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act stipulates that the lighthouse be offered at no cost to other governmental agencies - federal, state, and local. Any interest from those types of agencies must be expressed via letter no later than August 17, 2007.
If there is no interest from eligible organizations, US General Service Administration has the authority to sell this historic lighthouse at auction. Since 2000, the GSA has given away or sold 43 different lighthouses around New England.
The operation of and maintaining of the light beacon will continue to be done by the Coast Guard, so it will continue as a navigation aid for those navigating the Portsmouth Harbor area.
If you're interested, the Open House Tours of this lighthouse will be on Sundays - 7/29. 8/26, 9/30, and 10/4 - from 1 to 5pm on those dates. There will also be tours on Saturday, 8/11, from 10am to 2pm.
What a unique opportunity this could be for someone looking for that really special place to make their new home!! Talk about waterfront, AND in a gorgeous area - a very unique offering indeed!
~~ Piscataqua River Downtown Portsmouth NH from Portsmouth Harbor ~~
If a making a lighthouse into your next home isn't quite what you're looking for, and you're interested in the Portsmouth New Hampshire areas or the Kittery Maine areas, I'm happy to help in your search. This is a fabulous place to visit and an even more special place to call HOME!!
To take a pictorial tour of this great area I call HOME, just click on the picture below. There are several tours in that link, and lots of pictures, so please allow time for them to load so you can fully enjoy each of the tours!
Ann Cummings, New Hampshire & Maine Broker
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth NH
ann@anncummings.com
888-349-5678 x 3839
Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine 
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Let me put my years of experience here in the coastal areas of NH & southern Maine to work for YOU! Servicing the greater Portsmouth, Hampton, Exeter, Dover, NH areas & the southern tip of Maine.
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How cool would it be to actually own a lighthouse that is your home away from home??? And this one puts you in what I think is the greatest area ever to want to call HOME!!
Very cool indeed. I'd come visit you often!!! I love visiting light houses...they are so romantic .
Wow - what an intriguing thought! I have only been to your part of the country through your posts, but I think this would be an unbelievable opportunity.
Hey Monika - wouldn't that just be the coolest thing?? I imagine during storms it could be quite dramatic, but if someone's into that, what an awesome place that would be for them!!
Hi Paula - I've seen some lighthouses that private individuals have bought and made into homes on HGTV, and they were so awesome to see! Thanks for the email - all fixed now! ;-)
Ann
I used to read a lot of romance novels and lighthouses and oceans always seemed to be a central theme in them.
The Active Rain Lighthouse "getaway" owned by AR.... 38,000 members times 5 bucks?=almost 200K how much of a deposit?
Connecticut had a similar article this weekend. Didn't quite understand the cost.... Think it is free but you have to pay the electric bill and provide an easement so the Coast Guard can keep the lights working plus a bunch of other restrictions on the use....
How cool it would be to own a lighthouse! To me, lighthouses symbolize finding home. I love them. :)
Ann....is this a FSBO???
Monika - how funny as I used to read alot of those, too, growing up! I do remember ocean and woods and mountains in mine.
Jay - ooh, there's an intriguing thought! From what I read on the Coast Guard stuff on this, most of the lighthouses get auctioned off for far less than that. There was one up in Maine, Goose Rocks Lighthouse, that sold for $27,000 in a sealed bid.
Brother Dan - for eligible charitable & governmental agencies it is free, for others there is a price - whatever the auction or sealed bid price ends up. In the article in our local paper, they mentioned liability insurance running from $7,500 to $15,000 a year, and property insurance could run that, too. The beacon in this lighthouse runs on solar power, and the Coast Guard will maintain the light. There would be the same restrictions regarding preservation work that would be on any historic property, so whatever the town and state would ordinarily place on those types of properties would run with this one. Fun to think about though!!
Ann
Hey Mariana - WELCOME BACK!!! To those sailing the seas, that's exactly what lighthouses symbolize! It would be kinda cool, I think!
Joan - it's a Coast Guard & GSA FSBO! ;-)
Ann
Ann, oh what fun to have a lighthouse for your home. I love lighthouse as my logo shows, can I move it to Kansas?! It will be interesting to see what happens with this one!
I love lighthouses--I don't know why. I'm glad you wrote this--maybe I should move to NH someday. : )Thanks for a beautifully written article.
What a great job youdid on his post Anne, I have bookmarked it so I can enjoy all the links tomorrow when I am more alive then I am right now at 1am.
Nite,
Ginger
What a cool place that would be to live in. I love lighthouses, really great post Ann.
Hi Ann,
There you go again...playing New Hampshire tour guide. I wish I had time to make a trip there so you can drive me around and show me all the places I missed.
Ann.... this is cool and it would be cool to own one. Will you take a personal check? lol Seriously though.... my only fear is what would happen to them once bought. I would hope that nobody would disrupt the actual structure.
I thought about you this weekend and forgot to ask this one person if they had any New Hampshire lighthouses. But there was a craft and arts festival here in town which I did a blog on. This particular person sold pictures of lighthouses up and down the east coast. They ranged from large pictures to pictures on a magnet.
Here is that link for lighthouses : http://www.biggysphotosetc.com/
my grandmother had a home at lobster cove in york maine and i would sleep on the porch and watch nubble light and the isles of shoals. what memories! thanks.
i love your closing.
David - I think it would be really fun, too! A lot of fun making it into a home! I'll be watching to see what really transpires with this, and will either update this post or write a new one.
Yolanda - thank you so much for that really nice comment! You could always come up for a visit - you might just end up falling in love with this area and then I could help you find your new home! ;-)
Ginger - thank you so much, and I hope you did get a chance to check out the links. There's a lot of history in some of those links and lots of pics in my community tour.
Laurie - thank YOU so much for that really nice comment! It seems there are a lot of us who feel that way about lighthouses!
Neal - get back up here so I can show this great area off to you, the way you should have seen it when you were here!
Jeff - you'll have to see if the Coast Guard will take that check of yours! Thanks for thinking of me at that festival - that's sweet and I'm glad my post made an impression on you! Thanks for that lighthouse link - I'll be sure to check that out - love pictures of lighthouses.
Jay - Ah, the Nubble and Lobster Cove - I bet you do have wonderful memories! Do you ever get back up this way? Thanks for the comment on my closing - very much appreciated!
Many thanks for reading and for your very nice comments!!
Ann
Ann what a truly unique piece of property to own. We don't have anything resembling a light house in the desert.
Hi Ashley - I bet there are some rather interesting structures in deserts somewhere...... but probably not lighthouse for sure! Thanks for reading!!
Ann
I could keep an eye on the kids no matter which side of the house they're on! What a great post Ann. Any idea if there's an opening bid amount? I'm wondering what something like this would actually sell for if no government agency snaps it up.
Ann - love the pictures of Portsmouth. I get down to Portsmouth on occasion during the summer as I have a place right up the street in York Maine. Love the downtown area. Best of luck!
Hi Maggie - you certainly could keep a very close eye on them there, that's for sure!! I've seen all kinds of prices that lighthouses have gone for, from around $25,000 to close to $200,000 - no idea what the driving factor is in prices though. That would be cool to own, wouldn't it?
Hi Bill - York is a beautiful little town, isn't it? And you're right, you're just up the road from me when you're there. Thanks for the very nice comments on my pics - I love this area!!
Many thanks for reading and for your comments!!
Ann
Access is possible only at midtide in calm seas and fair weather.
This would definitely put a cramp on the company we receive. Although it sounds dreamily romantic and I like to think about owning a lighthouse, I probably won't. We have a lighthouse here in Warwick RI which was on the market recently. I am not sure who bought it, but I painted a picture of it.
Hi Karen - what a lovely painting that is! You are so talented - post your stuff on AR here in your blogs. Just think what you could do with them!!
It is "dreamily romantic" to think about owning a lighthouse! That kind of access would put a damper on some people's comings and goings, but others would love that kind of 'non-access' - living in peace and solitude.
I had read that a lighthouse in your area recently sold. I tried to find more info on it, but never did.
Thanks for reading and for your comments. I'm going to watch for pics of your paintings..... ;-)
Ann
I used to see the lighthouse on Long Island back in NY when we were down at the beach. You could also hear bells.
Hi Neal - living here along the coast of NH and Maine's coast being right here as well, I'm lucky in that I can easily see a number of lighthouses right here. I'm not aware of any of ours having bells, but we do have buoys and channel markers that give off sounds to help mariners during foggy conditions.
Ann. My husband taught school in Sea Brook New Hampshire for many years. We have been living in Pennsylvania for over 15 years, but the friends that were made are friends for life. What a great place!
Hi Diane - Seabrook's just minutes away from me! This whole area is just such a great place to be - so much to do and see. Every time I go away somewhere, I just love coming back home to this area.
Thanks so much for reading and for your comments! If you ever get back up this way, we'll have to meet up somewhere.
Ann
Awesome photos and slideshows. I can see why this made "the list". Great localism post!
Hi Margaret - many thanks for your very nice comments!! I'm glad you enjoyed this post.
Ann