In early 1960, the town of Westport bought the failing private Longshore Beach & Country Club. The 169-acre property included a golf course, tennis courts, pools, marina, inn/restaurant, residential cabins, even 2 private roads.
Plus — why not? — a lighthouse.
The entire process — from concept to approval from the Board of Finance and (unanimously!) the RTM — took just 18 days. Town officials put together a $1.9 million package, then earned approval from the Board of Finance and RTM. The latter vote was 38-0.
Five years later, the Westport Town Crier published a remarkable aerial photo of what was then the still-novel town-owned country club.
(Aerial photo/Robert Lentini)
Moving counter-clockwise from the center, you can see the old tennis court locker rooms, and adjacent wooden bathhouses (though you can’t see how dark they were, or smell their decades-old musty odor); the original Longshore Sailing School; several cabanas by the old pool — and, partially hidden by trees next to the marina, the circular lighthouse.
It was always a source of fascination for kids, and admiration by adults.
The lighthouse survived one demolition attempt in the late ’60s or early ’70s. Eventually — when the entrance to the pool area was modernized — it was torn down.
Here’s what we miss:
(Photo courtesy of Peter Barlow)
(Hat tip: Fred Cantor)