The 206-year-old lighthouse is the symbol of the Village of Sands Point
By Jana McDonough
Community leaders and county officials gathered for the rededication of the Sands Point Lighthouse on Oct. 23. The 80-foot lighthouse, built in 1809, had suffered widespread damage during its 206 years of existence, necessitating full-scale restoration. The lighthouse is located at the northern tip of Sands Point on the property of Don and Ilene Vultaggio.
“This is a great day for our village,” said Georgia DeYoung, chairperson of the Village of Sands Point’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission, whose goal is to protect and preserve the sites that are important to the village’s history. “This historic preservation is also important because it restores the symbol of our village: the lighthouse.”
In restoring the lighthouse, the Vultaggios, who funded the project, worked with the Village of Sands Point and the village’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission. A professional team, including a conservator who has worked on UNESCO sites around the world, led the effort. The building was accessed using an extensive scaffold system. The restoration included mapping the exterior and taking chemical samples so that the brownstone and mortar for repointing was similar in quality to the original, and historically accurate. Damaged stones were removed and refabricated to replicate the original exterior. The upper deck was made safe again by reconstructing with modern materials. The copper lantern was refurbished, rehung and waterproofed to prevent further deterioration. Doors and railings were restored and replaced in keeping with the period.
“We consider ourselves overseers, we don’t consider ourselves owners,” Don Vultaggio said, at the rededication ceremony. “My belief as an overseer is that you are preserving something historic so that hundreds of years from now the town will continue to be very proud of this landmark.”
“We recognize the Vultaggios in working with the Village of Sands Point and the village’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission,” Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said. “This preservation goes a long way to make certain that future generations can understand the history, culture and lifestyle that was here many, many years ago.”
Sands Point Mayor Edward Adler thanked the Vultaggios “for their extraordinary work over several years for what is the logo in the Sands Point seal and our most famous and perhaps most important landmark, the lighthouse.”
