Open house at refurbished Nahant Lifesaving Station slated for Sunday

NAHANT – The Nahant Lifesaving Station, which has been abandoned and neglected for more than three decades, will be open to the public this weekend.The Nahant Preservation Trust – a non-profit organization that leased the property from the town – has scheduled an open house on Sunday from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.The Coast Guard Station was built in 1899 and remained in active service until 1964. For more than two decades, the historic facility was ravaged by vandals and the elements. In 1999 the federal government officially transferred ownership of the station to the town and efforts got under way to restore the facility.Lynne Spencer, a member of the Nahant Preservation Trust, said the committee is looking forward to the open house.”We’re very happy to have this portion of the project in the final stretch,” she said. ” ? At the open house a presentation called Art of the Station will be shown. It will consist of family snapshots, postcards, artwork, paintings, drawings and images of the station.”One of the most important parts of the open house is the boat room.Spencer said the room is a central space, where surfboats were kept from the time the station was built in 1899 until motorized rescue boats came into use.She said the room will house displays detailing the history of the station and it will also serve as a function room.The Nahant Veterans Association (NVA) and Nahant Preservation Trust reached an agreement earlier this year regarding the sub-leasing of space on the first floor of the Nahant Lifesaving Station to the Nahant Veterans Association for use as American Legion Post #215 for at least the next 25 years.The renovation work has been extensive.The rotting wood floors have been replaced and Tuesday workmen were finishing them.The first floor will also house a catering kitchen for events and office space that will be rented out.Spencer explained part of the second floor will house an apartment, which will most likely not be finished this year.”We had enough money for the infrastructure and first floor,” she said. “The second floor is on hold pending additional funding, but it will be an apartment. We are looking at renting it out to someone who will take some responsibility for the property.”The Nahant Lifesaving Station Committee was formed in 2002 to lead the charge to preserve the station. Town officials have held numerous public meetings during the last 10 years to help determine the fate of the station and it was discussed at several Town Meetings in recent years. Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said Town Meeting approved zoning the Coast Guard Station as a mix of business and residential.The town awarded a 25-year lease in March 2006 for management rights to the station to the Trust. Cullinan said the lease agreement is good for both the town and NPT, which has a proven track-record with the Valley Road School.The renovation has been extensive.The boards on the windows have been removed and the broken windows have been replaced. The old graffiti scarred deteriorating interior walls have been refurbished and the decaying floor boards have been torn up.