Want a lighthouse? Call the Interior Dept.

The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse looks out from the Oregon coast, as it has for 131 years. There's probably no truth to the tales that it's "haunted." But it has seen a lot of history over its time: As an aid to ships navigating the rocky coastline for passage to safe harbor, then years of neglect and disrepair, and finally rehabilitation and listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

"There is a mystique to lighthouses, a drama, a history, almost an aura of reverence for their lifesaving function," says Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "People are drawn to them."

So many people, in fact, that Uncle Sam wants to transfer 301 lighthouses around the country to public and private interests for preservation. Most are along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but some 90 are in Great Lakes states, and Michigan – with 46 – has the most lighthouses available for acquisition.

The changes are happening under recent federal legislation authorizing the transfer of historic lighthouses and stations at no cost from the US Coast Guard to federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit corporations, and community development organizations.

"One of the outstanding features of this law is that it puts nonprofits on an equal footing with government," says Secretary Norton, who represents an administration that promotes government devolution and privatization.

For the most part, these transfers will be to local governments and historical societies. But some lighthouses may become available to individuals with the vision and wherewithal to restore and maintain these maritime icons.

Scott Holman has already had that experience. Three years ago, the US Coast Guard sold him the Granite Island Lighthouse in Lake Superior about 12 miles offshore from Marquette, Mich.

"It was an awful mess," he recalls. "It had a gaping hole in the roof and it had rotted all the way down through three floors to the basement. The plaster was destroyed. It had been untouched since 1939, when they walked out of the place."

The price was $86,000, but that was just the beginning of what has been a thorough (and very expensive) restoration and upgrading. How much has it cost so far?

"I'm not about to talk about how much it costs," demurs Mr. Holman, CEO of a steel-casting company in Bay City, Mich. "We just decided to do it."

Doing it has involved a full renovation of a facility that dates back to just after the Civil War. The fixup paid meticulous attention to historical detail, but included ultramodern additions like solar and wind energy-generation systems, and a high-speed Internet connection (via uplink to a satellite). There are nine "webcams" (one of them operating for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), seven of which can be viewed on the lighthouse's new website (www.graniteisland.com).

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