Here's your chance to live above it all in a seaside tower with spectacular views and round rooms, just off the coast of exotic Staten Island. Two decommissioned lighthouses are being auctioned off by the General Services Administration (GSA), which is starting the bidding next month at $5,000. A GSA spokeswoman tells the Staten Island Advance that several lighthouses auctioned in years past have been converted into private residences, where owners live out their days in sublime solitude, except for when they have to let repairmen in to do maintenance.
The oldest of the two lighthouses, the Old Orchard, is a three-story gem that was built in 1893 to mark the shallow area near a shoal of rocks in Lower New York Bay. The former keeper's quarters consists of about 1,000 square feet, with portholes! The five-story West Bank Lighthouse, located on a manmade island in Ambrose Channel, three miles off New Dorp Beach, comes with a charming a 100 feet long breakwater. But tidal surges are common!
These two lighthouses will remain active, with their lights operational. It costs a $20,000 deposit to register to bid, but that's a small price to pay for the opportunity to take a tour of each of the lighthouses, on September 1st.
