This is an edited version of an interview that was first heard in episode 60 in May 2020. The guest is Dave Waller, the owner of Graves Light in Boston Harbor. This is part one of two parts.

Graves Light in June 2001, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont

Dave Waller

The ledges in outer Boston Harbor called the Graves – about 10 acres in all – have been home to a lighthouse since 1905. The 113-foot tower is made of granite, and a first-order Fresnel lens was installed in the lantern. After the light's automation in 1976, weather and vandalism took its toll. Under the guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, the lighthouse was sold in a government auction in September 2013 to businessman David Waller. Another partner for the preservation of Graves Light is the well-known Boston philanthropist Bobby Sager.

Dave Waller owns a video special effects company headquartered on Newbury Street in Boston, and he also collects and restores old neon signs. He and his wife, Lynn, a graphic designer, live in a restored fire station in the Boston suburb of Malden.