Pair buys historic Stamford lighthouse, puts it on course for restoration with community help
The one in Stamford's harbor has become a different kind of guide for a local doctor who was sailing toward retirement.
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Lighthouses provide a sense of direction, helping boaters navigate the water.
The one in Stamford's harbor has become a different kind of guide for a local doctor who was sailing toward retirement.
"My house looks right out at the lighthouse, so I see the lighthouse every single day," said Gary Kalan, who lives on Dolphin Cove with his wife.
For the past eight years, Kalan has watched the 60-foot structure deteriorate.
"It was only when I read about the Greens Ledge Lighthouse and the work they had done there - that it had been restored--that I sort of thought, 'Well, why can't we do that with the Stamford Lighthouse?'" Kalan explained.
Kalan was told to reach out to Brendan McGee, who had led the Greens Ledge Lighthouse restoration project in Norwalk a few years ago. In a bit of fate, McGee was already looking into the Stamford Lighthouse and wanted to contact the people who lived closest.
It turned out that was the Kalans.
"I was going to knock on their door and the next day I got an email from Gary Kalan," McGee recalled.
"We think it was kind of meant to be," added Kalan.
The pair bought the lighthouse in 2023 for $500,000 from the prior owner.
"This seemed just like a great project to do, you know, for the next phase of my life and my career," Kalan said.
They formed the nonprofit Stamford Harbor Lighthouse Project to raise funds to bring the building back to its former glory.
"The Stamford Lighthouse was built in 1882. It's got significant Victorian details still attached. Our goal is to make it an authentic replication of how a lighthouse keeper lived at the turn of the century," McGee told News 12.
The lighthouse played a key role in the city's development.
"In the 1870s, the community of Stamford petitioned the federal government to put a lighthouse here because it was so dangerous that many of the boats would not come in and out. And it was only after this lighthouse was built that the shipping industry and therefore the manufacturing and everything of Stamford really took off," Kalan explained.
"We say that the success of Stamford came by sea because of lighthouses," McGee added. "So, it should be a sense of pride and joy for the whole city and all its residents."
Keepers lived in the lighthouse with their families for decades. But in 1953, with advances in technology, the lighthouse was decommissioned by the federal government. Over the years, it passed through the hands of the city and several private owners, including a man named Eryk Spektor who planned to make it his weekend getaway in the 80s.
"They basically did like a condominium renovation on this thing," McGee said.
"Unfortunately for Erik, he never spent a night there. His wife didn't like boats and wouldn't come out to the lighthouse," said Kalan.
The seven-level structure stood vacant for almost 40 years until Spektor's son sold it to McGee and Kalan because of their vision, which includes using the 10 acres the tower sits on for environmental projects, research and education.
"Our first goal was to be able to obtain safe access into the lighthouse. There was one staircase on the outside which was very deteriorated and rusty," Kalan explained. "We have rebuilt the staircase and extended it down all the way to the ground so we can get it in at all different tides, and that's been a big project."
In addition, the two have been cleaning the lighthouse nonstop with the help of a lot of volunteers.
"There was 40 years of dirt and garbage and all sorts of things in here," Kalan said.
The lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. It's one of only 33 sparkplug lighthouses that remain in the country. But that designation won't ensure preservation.
"For the past 142 years, the Stamford lighthouse has done remarkably well on it's own," McGee stated. "But it needs the community's help to get through the next hundred plus years."
The restoration will cost at least $2 million but the fundraising goal is double that, so they can create an endowment to maintain the lighthouse and prevent it from falling back into disrepair.
"We're literally in a race against the clock now because of increased storm damage and rising sea levels," McGee told News 12. "Making a donation to the Stamford Harbor Lighthouse Project is a gift to future generations."
The work is expected to take anywhere from two to five years depending on how fast they can get funding. But both men are committed to keeping the project on course.
"What excites me is how much work there is to do on it still because it's just the ground level, the very beginning of this restoration process," McGee said. "It's really going to be beautiful when it's restored. This one in particular has good bones."
"It's very important that we save the lighthouse, you know, because it's such an important part of our history, and we don't want to let that be lost," Kalan said. "I was fortunate to practice medicine for so many years, and I had a great career. And now this is the way that I can give back to the community--by doing this work."
To donate to the Stamford Harbor Lighthouse Project, click here.
