It’s not too hard to find a waterfront home, but how about one with a historic lighthouse in the backyard that is also displayed on your state’s license plates? The ultimate personalized license plate in a New England home off the beach that adds visual interest in the daytime and a romantic aura when sitting out under the stars at night?
Named the Outer Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, it was first lit in 1873. It is an example of a cast-iron warning tower of shallow water built at the mouth of the Connecticut River. A few years ago, when the federal government started selling its inventory of lighthouses, the owner of the next-door seaside residence purchased it in 50 percent co-ownership with the Coast Guard. The Guard agreed to maintain the light while the homeowners take care of the building’s structure. The lighthouse is featured on Connecticut’s “Preserve the Sound” license plates.
The beach home has all the elements one hopes to find in a seaside abode. Built in 2006, the house is modeled after an early shingle style with a hip and gabled roof, a widow’s walk with 360-degree views, and a chimney built from beach stones. Inside, it is open and airy with lots of white, French doors and palladium windows allowing the interior to be filled with light. Sited on 2.25 acres, the 7,600-square-foot home has five bedrooms, seven baths, a great room overlooking the water and beach with coffered ceilings and beach rock fireplace, a chef’s kitchen and a recreation media room. Outside, a lighted Ipe wood boardwalk leads to the beach where a mooring is also available. Fenwick, also the neighborhood of Katharine Hepburn’s longtime family home, is a private residential enclave that offers a golf course, tennis courts, a small yacht club, and access to the wide beaches.
Rare opportunity to be a lighthouse keeper while living in a spacious and airy beach home surrounded by the Long Island Sound, South Cove and the Connecticut River. Jennifer Caulfield and Jane Pfeffer of William Pitt Sotheby’s in Old Saybrook, Connecticut hold the listing. Priced at $12.8 million for the full compound, which comprises a main house and guest house or separately with the main house for $8.9 million and the guest house for $3.9 million.
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