AQUINNAH, Mass. — A Martha’s Vineyard lighthouse that is among the most endangered historic landmarks in the U.S. began its gradual march back from a rapidly eroding cliffside Thursday.
Powerful hydraulic pistons inched the 160-year-old Gay Head Light about 5 feet at a time along steel rails lathered with soap, starting just before noon. By midafternoon, it had moved more than 25 feet.
The 52-foot-high, 400-ton, brick-and-mortar structure is expected to arrive at its final destination — a concrete pad about 135 feet due southeast — as soon as Friday.
“We’ve got plenty of time. We’re not in any rush,” said Jerry Matyiko, a seasoned mover of large structures whose crews have relocated five lighthouses, including the famed Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina. “Preparing it was the hard part. Moving it is the easy part.”
Located on the sparsely populated, western edge of the resort island, Gay Head Light has been a critical waypoint for mariners since the peak of the whaling trade in the 19th century. Its red-and-white beam can be seen for almost 20 miles, warning ships of the coastline and the treacherous shoal extending about a half-mile into the water.
Today, the beacon and its dramatic, brilliantly colored cliffside perch are also a must-see destination for tourists.
Buddy Vanderhoop, a longtime charter fishing captain whose great uncle was the lighthouse’s first keeper, was among a handful of locals on hand Thursday to observe the start of the move.
“That light right here has been significant for me finding my way back home on more than a thousand occasions,” he said. “You know exactly where you are when you see the red and the white. That’s the homestretch.”
