Ambitious few are turning lighthouses into living spaces

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MENTOR, Ohio — Sheila Consaul's front yard is the largest natural sand beach in Ohio.

Her walkway is a stone jetty that extends a half-mile into Lake Erie. Her front steps are the rungs of a ladder, and the light atop her three-story home can be seen for miles. It comes with the benefit of helping boaters navigate at night.

“So yeah, I bought a lighthouse,” Consaul said recently while trekking along the jetty to her summer home in northeast Ohio. “I heard about these lighthouses coming up for auction, and I thought, ‘Well, that would be interesting.' ”

Since 2000, the federal government has sold more than 100 lighthouses to private buyers, many of whom are turning them into livable spaces.