In the second part of episode 7, we highlight what owning a historic lighthouse is like.
The episode's special guest is Sheila Consaul, owner of Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse. Sheila shares her journey of restoring her own lighthouse, offering advice for those interested in owning these beautiful and historic structures. Her experience adds a personal touch to the episode and provides invaluable insight.
Want to know more?
Look at the resources below for more information about the lighthouse program.
"GSA Does That!?" is the U.S. General Services Administration's first agency-wide podcast, offering listeners an inside look into how GSA and its partners benefit the American people. Hosted by Rob Trubia, the podcast features interviews with GSA leaders, experts, partners, and customers, covering topics such as federal real estate, acquisitions, and technology. The title reflects many's surprise at the scope of GSA's impact. At the same time, the artwork pays homage to President Harry S. Truman, who established GSA in 1949 to improve government efficiency and save taxpayer money. Whether you're a policy wonk or just curious about government operations, you can join the listener community.
For more information about the show visit, gsa.gov/podcast.
In the second part of episode 7, we highlight what owning a historic lighthouse is like.
The episode's special guest is Sheila Consaul, owner of Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse. Sheila shares her journey of restoring her own lighthouse, offering advice for those interested in owning these beautiful and historic structures. Her experience adds a personal touch to the episode and provides invaluable insight.
Want to know more?
Look at the resources below for more information about the lighthouse program.
"GSA Does That!?" is the U.S. General Services Administration's first agency-wide podcast, offering listeners an inside look into how GSA and its partners benefit the American people. Hosted by Rob Trubia, the podcast features interviews with GSA leaders, experts, partners, and customers, covering topics such as federal real estate, acquisitions, and technology. The title reflects many's surprise at the scope of GSA's impact. At the same time, the artwork pays homage to President Harry S. Truman, who established GSA in 1949 to improve government efficiency and save taxpayer money. Whether you're a policy wonk or just curious about government operations, you can join the listener community.
For more information about the show visit, gsa.gov/podcast.
00;00;06;16 - 00;00;30;24
Rob Trubia
Hey, welcome back to another episode of GSA Does That!? the podcast that uncovers the stories behind the federal agency delivering effective and efficient government. I'm your host, Rob Trubia, and I think it might be safe to say that today's guest might just be living your dream. We're going to talk to Sheila Consaul, a woman who bought a lighthouse from GSA, restored it to perfection, and now has the summer home of her dreams.
00;00;30;26 - 00;00;55;22
Rob Trubia
She's going to tell you it was easy, cheap and smooth sailing all the way. Okay, maybe there's more to the story, but I think you'll hear that this passion project has been worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears. Sheila has an inspiring story to share. And she's not only saved a piece of maritime history, but she's learned a ton and has invaluable tips for anyone dreaming of owning a part of America's nautical past.
00;00;55;25 - 00;01;17;06
Rob Trubia
She's got a great story to tell, and I think she just might inspire you to buy your own lighthouse. Stay tuned for a unique episode where we shine a light on preserving maritime heritage with Sheila console right here on GSA does that. Sheila. I've got to ask, what inspired you to consider even buying a lighthouse in the first place?
00;01;17;08 - 00;01;58;11
Sheila Consaul
I live outside Washington, D.C., and it gets very hot and humid in the summer. So I was looking for a summer home summer getaway. I have also done some historic preservation renovation work in the past, and I actually heard through GSA, I lost some of my Washington network that GSA was auctioning off lighthouses. And I thought it would be a really interesting combination of the history and finding something on the water, either a lake or the ocean and just started looking into the program.
00;01;58;13 - 00;02;07;04
Rob Trubia
So when you heard GSA was auctioning off lighthouses, how did you find out even where to go, to find out specifically what lighthouses are out there for?
00;02;07;05 - 00;02;50;09
Sheila Consaul
So I began looking into the program in about 2007, So I just went to the GSA website and searched for lighthouses. And they have a, you know, a section dedicated to lighthouses that are on the auction block and talks a lot about the program that's involved. And the history of the National Historic Preservation Act of 2000 and sort of everything that GSA was asked to do under that law by Congress in terms of finding lighthouses, new homes.
00;02;50;13 - 00;02;59;07
Rob Trubia
So from the first moment you found out about lighthouses was even available for auction to getting the deed to your lighthouse, what was that process like? How long did that take?
00;02;59;09 - 00;03;30;07
Sheila Consaul
I was in the beginning of the program that GSA was developing and setting up. Obviously, the law was passed in 2000, and so GSA had to get all of the information, all the ducks in a row, look into what was needed to be done. But when I first looked at another lighthouse in 2008. That one was in Lake Ontario.
00;03;30;09 - 00;04;00;02
Sheila Consaul
So that was early in the program. I decided that that one wasn't really suited for me. So I saw this other one that came up at Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse, and I started researching it. I first bid on it in 2009 and had an idea what I wanted to spend. I bid on it. It got up to a certain level and then I dropped out of the auction that year.
00;04;00;04 - 00;04;35;03
Sheila Consaul
Someone won the auction and I thought that was pretty much the end of it and kind of moved on from there. As it turned out, the person that won the auction in 2009 was not able to go through with the purchase because of the lease that's involved with the Army Corps of Engineers of Lighthouse sits on Army Corps of Engineers property, and as such I have a lease with them, which includes all of the sort of rights and responsibilities I have.
00;04;35;05 - 00;05;13;16
Sheila Consaul
So in 2009, the winner was declared a default and at that point the GSA didn't really have a backup plan. So in 2010, that lighthouse came up for auction again. Someone else bid on it and won it in 2010. And I didn't actually even know it had come up again in 2010. Once again, that person defaulted. They were found in default in 2010.
00;05;13;19 - 00;05;34;29
Sheila Consaul
So in 2011, a couple of things happened. GSA sent out an email to everyone who had ever bid before and said, This year, this lighthouse is coming back up for auction and you bid on it previously. And so if you're interested, this is when the auction is going to start. So they did that. They let everyone know.
00;05;35;02 - 00;06;03;20
Sheila Consaul
The other thing they did that was very significant, 2011 was they changed the parameters of the auction a bit. And they said, now if the first person defaults and in other words, if the winner defaults for whatever reason, we're going to go back to the second person and give them the first right of refusal. So in 2011, I bet on it again in the summer of 2011.
00;06;03;22 - 00;06;32;14
Sheila Consaul
And once again, it got to kind of where I was, where I wanted to pay. And now I dropped out. Someone else wanted it in 2011. And at that point, the GSA contacted me a couple of weeks after the auction and said that we had a winner, but we're not sure about this person if they're going to go through with it or not.
00;06;32;16 - 00;07;06;08
Sheila Consaul
You are now the second person in line. So stand by. So basically, about two weeks after the auction closed, that person who had won was also found in default. And the GSA came back to me and said, okay, now it is yours if you want it. And that was in August of 2011. So it took me three years and four auctions, but I took possession of Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse on November one of 11.
00;07;06;12 - 00;07;11;09
Sheila Consaul
So 11-1-11, which makes it really easy for me to remember.
00;07;11;12 - 00;07;14;29
Rob Trubia
That's pretty cool. It really kind of sounds like destiny. You were supposed to have this lighthouse.
00;07;14;29 - 00;07;17;10
Sheila Consaul
That's about to have it right.
00;07;17;12 - 00;07;22;23
Rob Trubia
When it was finally an opportunity for you to go ahead and grab it right. Were you ready?
00;07;22;25 - 00;07;54;14
Sheila Consaul
Yeah. I mean, I think for me, it was such a long process that I had years really to mull it over and think about it and try and figure out what to do. You never quite want to get going, though, until you know for sure that you're the winner. It was also a little bit easier for me in terms of timing in that obviously I didn't take possession until November, which is pretty much starting winter in northeast Ohio.
00;07;54;16 - 00;08;12;06
Sheila Consaul
So I just had to make sure that it was secured and that, you know, the windows were boarded and there weren't any leaks and that sort of thing in November. And then I really couldn't start any of the renovations until the next summer of 2012.
00;08;12;09 - 00;08;19;16
Rob Trubia
November 1st, when you got possession, you got the deed. What was that like? Do they like hand you keys? I mean, what's the transaction like? You know.
00;08;19;18 - 00;08;42;10
Sheila Consaul
It's a no, I'm trying to remember if I even I they may have mailed me a key. You get the final documents. It's like closing on a house. You know, you put the bit in, you get a couple of months. There's some requirements that you have to do as an owner and you have to have insurance. So you have to agree to all the provisions in the Army Corps of Engineers lease.
00;08;42;12 - 00;09;02;11
Sheila Consaul
Those are the main ones. They may have them. I can't even remember it's been so long. They may have then mailed me a key. The email me the lfinal documents, but it's actually a padlock that's that closes the lighthouse. And mainly because the Coast Guard has a key, the National Weather Service has a key and some other folks have keys.
00;09;02;11 - 00;09;06;12
Sheila Consaul
So we all have to have we have to share the same key for access.
00;09;06;15 - 00;09;14;19
Rob Trubia
You own the lighthouse, but it sounds like you still have to allow access to the Coast Guard. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
00;09;14;21 - 00;09;40;25
Sheila Consaul
Yeah, One of the main provisions in the Army Corps of Engineers lease is that my lighthouse is still considered an active aid to navigation. What that means is that the beacon still functions. It still guides mariners in and out of Fairport Harbor. It still comes on every night at dusk, and it goes off at dawn. It has a set pattern.
00;09;41;01 - 00;10;07;01
Sheila Consaul
Believe the pattern is 2 seconds on two, 3 seconds off, and it is still maintained by the Coast Guard. So in our Army Corps of Engineers lease, they tell you, as I said, your rights and responsibilities. My first responsibility is to the Coast Guard. If something goes wrong with the beacon or any of their equipment, they come and maintain it.
00;10;07;02 - 00;10;30;20
Sheila Consaul
They fix it, whatever is wrong with it. In the early days, they actually had to swap out some equipment, things like that. Some of the equipment was right in the middle of my kitchen, so they were kind enough to relocate it. The beacon, what they're responsible for is run by solar. Now, I'm not sure exactly when the solar went in, probably early nineties.
00;10;30;20 - 00;11;01;23
Sheila Consaul
It's pretty old solar technology and it runs the beacon. It charges batteries. The batteries charge their equipment and it comes on every night. We did have an incident with a storm a couple of weeks ago where one of the panes of the lantern room windows blew out and the Coast Guard will be fixing that as well because it impacts their light functioning at the very top of the lighthouse.
00;11;01;25 - 00;11;43;25
Sheila Consaul
The second thing that I'm responsible for is that I also have a national Weather Service weather station that sits on the top of my lighthouse and that weather station is SAIO1 which stands for Fairport 01 And you can go to the NOAA.gov website, weather station or you can go to the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse dot com website and there's a feed right on there The weather station measures real time weather, wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, those sorts of things pretty much in real time.
00;11;43;25 - 00;12;03;29
Sheila Consaul
So you can go on at any time. In fact, that storm that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the National Weather Service recorded a wind gust of 81 miles an hour in the top of my lighthouse and tweeted it out that that was what they had recorded there. It's the National Weather Service office in Cleveland that handles that weather station.
00;12;04;01 - 00;12;38;00
Sheila Consaul
Then the third responsibility I have is that the lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, and that's pretty common for historic buildings. But as such, I report in to the Ohio State Preservation Office, which is in Columbus, for any historical issues, clarifications, approvals, that sort of thing, and we can certainly talk more about that. So that's sort of my third responsibility under my lease and the fourth one is local county.
00;12;38;00 - 00;12;42;06
Sheila Consaul
In my case, it's a county building codes that I have to adhere to.
00;12;42;09 - 00;12;57;02
Rob Trubia
So not everybody gets a vacation home with responsibilities. Sounds like there is maybe it's a little bit. Yeah. And not everybody gets a vacation home that they always know exactly what the weather is at their home and they'll never lose it because there's a flashing light on top.
00;12;57;04 - 00;12;58;10
Sheila Consaul
That's right.
00;12;58;12 - 00;13;06;12
Rob Trubia
So that that is pretty cool. When you got the keys, so to speak, you got in there for the first time in the spring. What was that like?
00;13;06;19 - 00;13;36;17
Sheila Consaul
So it was obviously a rush of emotions, of good news and bad news. Of course, you know, the bad news is that these buildings are in desperate need of attention. My lighthouse had keepers that lived there between when it was first lit, June 9th, 1925, until about the late 1940s when they moved out because they were able to electrify the lighthouse.
00;13;36;17 - 00;14;08;06
Sheila Consaul
So they didn't need keepers there tending that light anymore with kerosene or oil, that sort of thing. So when they moved out, really, the Coast Guard just continued to maintain the light as opposed to the building itself. So my building was unoccupied for about 60 years or so. And any building, no matter how well constructed, especially mine, that sits pretty much in the middle of Lake Erie, can take a beating.
00;14;08;08 - 00;14;35;08
Sheila Consaul
It needed an enormous amount of paint. A lot of the plaster was falling off the walls. There was no furniture. There was no really only a few historic artifacts that we found. So that was kind of the bad news, how much work it needed. Not that that was that surprising. The good news was that I loved the layout.
00;14;35;09 - 00;15;09;22
Sheila Consaul
The layout of mine is substantial. My lighthouse is about 3000 square feet and it's actually five layers, five floors. There's a full basement downstairs. There's a main living level which has like kitchen, living room, dining room on it. There's a bedroom level. From there you go into the tower into what's called the service level. And then of course, from there you go up into the lantern room and outside to the widow's walk.
00;15;09;25 - 00;15;33;20
Sheila Consaul
So another setup upstairs. But mine is really large compared to a lot of the small ones that are kind of like the tube style that might just have kind of the staircase running up them or maybe one room on each floor. So I was really happy to see how much room there was, and it gave me a lot of ideas for what it would be like for a summer hall.
00;15;33;20 - 00;15;35;21
Sheila Consaul
Having friends and family over.
00;15;35;23 - 00;15;38;20
Rob Trubia
Yeah, 3000 square feet. That's like a large home.
00;15;38;22 - 00;15;49;22
Sheila Consaul
It is like a large home. It's three bedrooms. Now that it's renovated, it's three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, full functioning kitchen, living room, dining room and a great view.
00;15;49;25 - 00;16;01;11
Rob Trubia
And I'm sure it was very easy to renovate. Access for lighthouses is very, very simple, inexpensive and quick. Is that all accurate now?
00;16;01;14 - 00;16;43;10
Sheila Consaul
So my lighthouse, interestingly, is attached to land. It is accessible by walking via Manor Headlands State Park in Ohio. Metro Headland State Park is a huge, beautiful, beautiful state park in Ohio. It happens to have the longest beach in the state of Ohio. That is where you have to park to walk out to the lighthouse. Once you park in the parking lot, it is about a half to three quarters of a mile walk out from the parking lot through protected dunes in a sandy beach and a breakwall to the lighthouse.
00;16;43;13 - 00;17;08;05
Sheila Consaul
But that is actually an advantage if you look at a number of the lighthouses and most, I would say, of the Lighthouses that GSA is disposing of their offshore. They are completely surrounded by water. So it is very difficult in that case to get boats out there, equipment, people, you name it. Everything has to go by boat.
00;17;08;07 - 00;17;40;08
Sheila Consaul
In my case, I do have stair access to the water on the east side. And whenever we had to bring big, large, heavy things like kitchen cabinets, appliances, granite countertops, hobs, furniture, water, treatment equipment, all of that, that all came by boat, either a regular working boat or a barge with actually a crane that lifts things up like a refrigerator and puts it over on to the platform and get it gets it moved in there.
00;17;40;08 - 00;18;09;26
Sheila Consaul
But, yes, access is really the biggest challenge in terms of getting people to help renovate the lighthouse professionals, you know, electricians, plumbers, painters, carpenters, whatever is needed. That's the biggest challenge because they don't have their trucks. They have to carry everything out there. I had many, many, many people come out to look at various projects that I never heard from again.
00;18;10;02 - 00;18;29;28
Sheila Consaul
I mean, you know, they'll say, well, where do I park my truck while you have to park your truck in the in the parking lot and the men are headlands or how do I get, you know, how do I get this or that here. Don't you have a boat or, you know, a lot of those questions. So that's part of why it has taken so long to renovate.
00;18;30;05 - 00;18;59;09
Sheila Consaul
That coupled with really the weather in northeast Ohio and I would say in a lot of places, summer out there is really about the beginning of June and then to about the beginning of October. So it only gives me about four months a year to actually, you know, get equipment, boats, people, whatever you need out there in a somewhat efficient manner.
00;18;59;11 - 00;19;37;12
Sheila Consaul
The lighthouse is not heated and I'm not going to be heating it. It used to be heated by coal, which means that you can't have people working in there when it's cold. So it's a very short season. So access is very difficult finding the right workers, people who are willing to do that kind of work. Given those obstacles, you really have to find people who are interested in a challenge and dedicated to helping preserve a historic building like that in order to really restore it.
00;19;37;14 - 00;19;50;22
Rob Trubia
What has kept you after this? Because that's a lot of challenges and a lot of expense and takes just a lot of time. You have to have a lot of patience. But what is it about this structure that just makes you stick with it, though?
00;19;50;23 - 00;20;23;23
Sheila Consaul
There's a few things. One of the things is obviously that it's very unique. As you mentioned, this is not your average summer home. It is a unique piece of property, historic property that happens to double as a summer haul. That's part of it, that's really what attracted me in the first place. As I got more and more into it, though, this lighthouse sits next to a very small town called Fairport Harbor.
00;20;23;25 - 00;20;46;11
Sheila Consaul
It's in a county in Ohio called Lake county right on Lake Erie. And if you spend any time in that area, you will see that this lighthouse is the symbol of the town and the county. It's on the phone book, it's on the website. You'll see pictures of it in restaurants. You go into doctor's offices, you go into.
00;20;46;11 - 00;21;13;05
Sheila Consaul
It really is the symbol of this town. And as I got more and more involved in it, I just realized how important it was to save it and also to open it up and to share it with the community. That was really important to me, especially because I wasn't from there. I think that's what's kept me going. The other thing that's kept me going is I have had a lot of help.
00;21;13;07 - 00;21;38;08
Sheila Consaul
As many challenges as there are, I've had just as many people step up and say, What can I do? Can I paint. Can I carry something out for you? Can I take trash back? You know, what do you need kind of thing? That's been a huge part of of keeping going. And I think the other thing that keeps me going is a little progress at a time every year.
00;21;38;08 - 00;22;13;09
Sheila Consaul
And I'm now just finishing up my 12th year. You see the renovations, you see something that has been improved has been changed. The year that I got running water, which was nine years in, and that was monumental in terms of getting running water, you know, getting furniture. So I could actually sit down. Getting electricity was huge so that we had power tools and things that we could use that we didn't have to rely on a generator.
00;22;13;09 - 00;22;21;10
Sheila Consaul
Well, a small just a hand generator. We still rely on a generator for electricity, but a much bigger one. So I think that's what keeps me going.
00;22;21;12 - 00;22;30;14
Rob Trubia
It sounds like it's just a lot of pride, maybe a sense of responsibility now to the town. Yeah. And just really kind of civic duty.
00;22;30;16 - 00;22;31;12
Sheila Consaul
Civic duty, Yes.
00;22;31;13 - 00;22;34;29
Rob Trubia
Are you a bit of a celebrity in that little town? Yeah.
00;22;35;01 - 00;23;02;02
Sheila Consaul
Not as much as I used to be, actually, when I first started, of course, because I wasn't from there and because the lighthouse was going from being very much in disrepair and needing so much attention to, to, to being improved, you know, being painted, being open then and then some of the other open houses and things that I've done.
00;23;02;05 - 00;23;10;11
Sheila Consaul
But I have to say that most people in the town probably don't know my name, but they do know me as the lighthouse lady.
00;23;10;13 - 00;23;31;22
Rob Trubia
That's pretty good. So they see you in the grocery store. There's the lighthouse lady who I'm pretty sure, that’s her. Yeah, that's funny and kind of fun too. I am curious at this point in your journey, and it really does sound like a journey. What is this lighthouse like now? I mean, it sounds like the renovation completed?
00;23;31;22 - 00;23;37;17
Rob Trubia
It's been 12 years and you're good. You're done. Or is there more to do?
00;23;37;19 - 00;24;05;13
Sheila Consaul
I think anybody, you know, renovates an old house. And so people who even have fairly new houses will tell you that there's always a project, there's always something you want to do. Even the minute you finish, you decide that you're going to redo something, take a wall out or whatever. I think in this lighthouse, because of the age, because of the elements, the weather, those sorts of things, there is always something that needs attention, whether it's a leak in the window.
00;24;05;14 - 00;24;28;27
Sheila Consaul
Like in this case, I lost one of the window panes because of a storm and you have to do that. So there's always something going on. So I never really like to say I'm finished. I have one more project I'm doing this summer, which is buffing out the quarry tiles, which are the original tiles on the main floor.
00;24;29;00 - 00;25;10;24
Sheila Consaul
That's this year's project. But other than that, yes, I now have the entire thing has been painted both inside and out. We've used about 90 gallons of paint inside and about 60 gallons of paint outside, mainly because it wasn't painted in six decades and plaster was falling off. It was like a sponge. You'd be painting a sponge and you'd have to paint it over and over until it would be absorbing the paint so that a lot of all of the wood that could be refinished on the original windows is burned down on the windows, you know, have had their ropes and their pulleys onto the original windows.
00;25;11;01 - 00;25;43;15
Sheila Consaul
Many of the original windows were completely missing and had to be replaced with the Ohio State Preservation Office approved windows, mainly being wood. They couldn't be vinyl because the original windows were wood. But we now have utilities. That was really the biggest challenge all along because the lighthouse is completely off the grid. It's when keepers lived there between 1925 and the late forties, they usually only had one or two people there at a time.
00;25;43;15 - 00;26;05;00
Sheila Consaul
They would come back and forth to the Coast Guard station. They had a bedroom, they had a bathroom, they had an office and a living room on the second level. But whatever water they needed, they took out of the lake. They kept it in a cistern in the basement through the winter so it wouldn't freeze. I have been able to resurrect that cistern and use that for my water storage.
00;26;05;03 - 00;26;30;00
Sheila Consaul
They would have had electricity at least in the early years, by a coal burning furnace or a boiler, which was kept in the basement. And we know that it was fueled by coal because, oh, we found some coal for one thing, but also because of the way that they would have brought ships and they would have brought coal in and dropped it through one of the trap doors into the basement.
00;26;30;03 - 00;26;51;27
Sheila Consaul
So that's how they got their power, steam, whatever was they were using in the early days for electricity or power. And then of course, it was only one or two people. So the utilities weren't nearly as cumbersome as as they are now. They probably had different stoves, different things to heat the place, to cook, that kind of thing.
00;26;52;00 - 00;27;18;00
Sheila Consaul
When I was there, once the keepers moved out in the late 1940s, the Coast Guard would have taken whatever they wanted at the time. They would have taken appliances, furniture or shortly their reports or paperwork, all of that. But once they moved out in, until I bought it in 2000, 11,12, it was really an abandoned government building. And so people took advantage.
00;27;18;00 - 00;27;46;18
Sheila Consaul
A lot of teenagers go out to party and hang out. Other people just want to know what's going on. And as such, whatever additional things were there after the 1940s are gone, I mean, there's their doors missing. There's no pipes, there's no furniture, no toilet, nothing. I mean, anything that was carried away can be carried away. So that was really starting from scratch.
00;27;46;20 - 00;27;57;09
Rob Trubia
We've talked a lot about the challenges and there's plenty of them, but take us to, when it’s all worth it to you? What are those moments that you just bask in.
00;27;57;09 - 00;28;27;16
Sheila Consaul
There's a couple of them. Well, there's there's a lot of well, let's put it that way. But there's a couple that I'll tell you about. One is every year since I bought it, I felt it was very important to have an open house for people in the community to come and actually see the inside. One of the first open houses I had, I had run around town, I had put up posters and flyers and things about an open house and I got a few people to come.
00;28;27;16 - 00;28;49;01
Sheila Consaul
And most of the people that came were people that were already in the park, on the beach and was sort of like, What's going on out there? And, you know, they came in that way. But I had one gentleman come in and he had several cameras with him. He had a vest. I thought he actually was a news photographer because he kind of looked like a news photographer.
00;28;49;01 - 00;29;09;03
Sheila Consaul
So I went up and I introduced myself. I asked him, you know, what he was doing, Was he with the media, whatever? And he said, no. He looked at me and he said, I have waited 40 years to see the inside of this lighthouse. So that's the kind of thing that I continue to do an open house every year around the lighthouse.
00;29;09;04 - 00;29;37;13
Sheila Consaul
And at first they would just June 9th, I invite the community in for free and they come in from all over and they go up and down and out to see the view and ask tons and tons of questions. And this year we had almost 800 people come through. Some of them waited 2 hours in line on the beach, because we have to sort of control the crowds.
00;29;37;13 - 00;29;57;02
Sheila Consaul
And mostly as they get up to the top and the stairs get narrower and the platform gets narrower and everything. But what I think that's what keeps me going is that people want to see it. People love it like you wouldn't believe. And they just they just want a peek. You know, the Coast Guard never opened it to people.
00;29;57;02 - 00;30;21;29
Sheila Consaul
And the whole time they they owned it from 1925 to 2011, they didn't have open houses or parties or dinners or anything. They you know, it's a working building for them. It was just a you know, it had the the different kinds of mechanics that they needed. And and that's all it was to them. But today, lighthouses are so revered and people really are just so curious.
00;30;22;01 - 00;31;04;29
Sheila Consaul
And they're not being made anymore. They're not being built. People want to know all about them. So I think that's what keeps me going. I also get requests regularly and I am happy to provide private tours so you can bring your friends or your family or class or room or whatever it might be. Girlfriend for a private tour and private tours take about 45 minutes to an hour and people come and I give them kind of the whole history of the building what it was like when the keepers lived there, as well as what I have done in the 12 years in terms of renovations, what it took, how I got utilities, what it's
00;31;04;29 - 00;31;31;06
Sheila Consaul
like to live there, whether it's haunted or not, what it's like in a storm. I mean, it's amazing what people are interested in. And it seems like everybody who comes in is interested in something different. Some really want to know whether, you know, what it was like when the keepers lived there. Some people want to know how I got the granite countertop in there or some people, but you know, it's just amazing what they're interested in.
00;31;31;06 - 00;31;33;04
Sheila Consaul
So I think that's what keeps me going.
00;31;33;07 - 00;31;49;20
Rob Trubia
Well, it sounds like you've really built a legacy. I mean, you bought a piece of property. That's the most basic way to put it. You've poured your heart and soul into it and a lot of money, and you've built a legacy in that town and made a lot of people really happy. What are you going to do with that in the future?
00;31;49;20 - 00;32;03;05
Rob Trubia
I mean, people probably ask you all the time, could I rent this out for my wedding or honeymoon or are you going to do anything like that? Or are you just going to keep it in the family and then someday when you're gone, what is your thought? Are you leaving it to family?
00;32;03;07 - 00;32;28;16
Sheila Consaul
That's a lot of options. I do have to say that I get asked just about every day if I rent it out. People are dying to stay in a lighthouse. There's only a few in the country that you actually can stay overnight in a, a few bed and breakfast type ones. That is an option for me to rent it out because I certainly have the demand.
00;32;28;19 - 00;32;55;25
Sheila Consaul
Renting it is a possibility, but I haven't gotten there yet. As far as the future, I like to say that I'm just a steward. I mean, I have had this property for 12 years now. I have, like you said, I hope I have breathed some new life into it, brought it back after a really long time of neglect, opened it for the community, really given them some pride in it again.
00;32;55;28 - 00;33;26;04
Sheila Consaul
And paved the way for a lot of different opportunities. It certainly it can be sold. I could sell it if I wanted to. You all know because you run the the disposal program. There's a lot of interest in buying lighthouses out there. People may well be interested in buying one that's done. And you don't have to go through all the hassle of of carrying all your paint out or getting ladders on a boat or furniture or that sort of thing.
00;33;26;10 - 00;33;54;20
Sheila Consaul
You know, it could eventually turn over to a nonprofit organization or government type of organization, whether that's state, county, that sort of thing. I don't know. It will probably not stay in my family. I have a very small family, none of which is in Ohio. So I suspect it'll at all end up somewhere else whenever the time is right. I still have that fire in me to save old buildings, but I don't think I'll do another lighthouse.
00;33;54;23 - 00;33;55;24
Sheila Consaul
I know too much.
00;33;55;24 - 00;34;01;23
Rob Trubia
With that said, what advice do you have for people out there thinking? I think I want to bid on the next one.
00;34;01;25 - 00;34;27;03
Sheila Consaul
Sure. And in fact, there's one going on now. Cleveland, West Pier Head. I have gotten at least five inquiries from people asking me for advice. So I think like many restoration projects, just old houses or other kinds of restoration, maybe it's a car or whatever you're restoring. It takes longer and costs more than you always think it's going to be.
00;34;27;05 - 00;34;54;29
Sheila Consaul
And that's the number one thing. There are so many things that you cannot possibly anticipate, like weather. Weather, even though I have about a four month season, even within those four months, we get storms, we get wind you know we get waves, we get things. That means we have to reschedule the boat or people get out there or, you know, it takes a toll on the structure itself.
00;34;54;29 - 00;35;23;06
Sheila Consaul
And then you're working on something you didn't anticipate working on. I guess my biggest recommendation would be to be realistic. I mean, they are massive, massive undertakings just because of the neglect, because of the historic nature of them, because you may have requirements mine with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard or the National Weather Service.
00;35;23;14 - 00;36;09;13
Sheila Consaul
You may have a lot of those sorts of things. You may have historical restrictions in finding people to help you. Is is hard, volunteers, you know, a lot of people want to come in and, you know, I'll paint, I'll carry trash, whatever. Finding the right craftsmen, finding people who can completely rewire your electricity or install all your plumbing or install all new windows or refinish hardwood floors, you know, those kind of things are hard enough as it is, a plumber or an electrician can drive up to your house, bring all the records in and walk in When you're dealing with something that's offshore or in an unusual location, you may have power by a
00;36;09;13 - 00;36;23;22
Sheila Consaul
generator. Is that enough power for that? Is the humidity too high? I mean, there's just lots and lots of issues that you just don't anticipate. So you need to have a lot of a lot of perseverance, a lot of patience, a lot of perseverance.
00;36;23;27 - 00;36;26;16
Rob Trubia
And finally, why should someone buy one?
00;36;26;18 - 00;36;56;29
Sheila Consaul
Oh, they're magnificent. I mean, there's nothing like them. They are so unique. They are so beloved. They're just magnificent structures. If you come to visit mine, one of the things that people are most surprised about is how well-built it is. Mine was built in a factory in Buffalo, New York, in the early 1900s, 1920s. Its got foot thick walls.
00;36;56;29 - 00;37;23;20
Sheila Consaul
It's made of steel it came down like a boat. It was raised by a crane. It put on the platform that it sits on now almost a hundred years ago. The fact that that kind of engineering and that kind of construction, you know, was done, you know, we don't do that today. I mean, we can't afford it. People don't know how to do it.
00;37;23;23 - 00;38;02;06
Sheila Consaul
Some of the beams inside, there's a chain winch that's really interesting, just amazing pieces. This the cast iron circular staircase is just or just runs up three flights of stairs. You don't see those anymore. People don't make those people here construct them. So we have to save all these lighthouses. We have to. They're not being built anymore. And so if you have the passion, you have the time, you have the perseverance, and you have some extra resources, I would say go for it.
00;38;02;09 - 00;38;18;13
Rob Trubia
I can't thank you enough. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. I mean, what you've done is really sort of heroic. I mean, I'm sure the town sees it that way. You really have taken something that's very special to a lot of people, or it's so much time and love and energy into it.
00;38;18;13 - 00;38;34;04
Rob Trubia
And then it's so neat that you are every year opening this up and sharing this with anyone, anyone that's interested. And I just think that's fantastic. And I'm so glad that, you know, GSA was able to help make this happen for you. That's really neat.
00;38;34;12 - 00;38;54;16
Sheila Consaul
Yeah, I have worked with GSA. I certainly worked with them early on for years until. So I actually was signed on the dotted line to get this. And I worked with them a lot lately in terms of a lot of their, you know, media and advice and what people need to know and some suggestions and things like that.
00;38;54;16 - 00;39;17;01
Sheila Consaul
I'm just so happy that GSA puts so much thought and effort into what to do with these lighthouses and really provide an opportunity to have them saved and continued and restored because so many historic buildings just get torn down. And that's very, very sad.
00;39;17;04 - 00;39;18;09
Rob Trubia
Sheila, thank you very much.
00;39;18;14 - 00;39;20;27
Sheila Consaul
You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
00;39;21;00 - 00;39;41;29
Rob Trubia
Well, now you've got some real insight into what it's really like to buy and renovate a lighthouse. It might not be for everyone, but for those of you out there that are undeterred by the commitment, it sounds like the rewards are beyond comparison. So if you're ready to join Sheila and a handful of other lighthouse owners in America, simply search online for GSA lighthouse season and you'll be on your way.
00;39;42;01 - 00;40;05;12
Rob Trubia
If you enjoyed this episode. Be sure to subscribe to GSA Does That!? And for more information, visit GSA.gov/podcast. Or to suggest a topic or guest, send us an email at GSA Does that at GSA.gov. I'm your host, Rob Trubia. Our executive producer is the one and only Max Stempora. GSA Does That!? is a production of the U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Strategic Communication.
00;40;05;14 - 00;40;07;16
Rob Trubia
I hope you have a great rest of your day.