Lighthouse: There’s Room for Romantics

SITKA, Alaska —  A night’s stay costs $160 if you use the hot tub, and summer reservations must be made months in advance. But once you’re at Rockwell Lighthouse, the price and the wait seem a bargain.

The privacy of the island lighthouse, its 360-degree view of Sitka Sound and the peaceful symphony of waves and sea birds are enough to warm even the coldest of hearts.

Since it was completed in 1985, Rockwell Lighthouse--really a house, although it does have a navigation light for sailors--has been the site of 14 weddings, dozens of honeymoons and “bunches of affairs,” owner Burgess Bauder says.

Bauder built it because he loves lighthouses and couldn’t figure what else to do with Rockwell Island, a three-quarter-acre clump of rock, spruce and driftwood less than a mile from Sitka’s waterfront.

He bought the island on speculation in 1973 for $3,000, then a decade later was unable to sell it at a profit. “Thank God we didn’t, because this has turned out better than any business venture,” he said.

Bauder, the town veterinarian and an occasional carpenter, began building the four-story, wood-frame structure in 1983. An architect provided a scale drawing in exchange for Bauder’s spaying his dog. Except for some help with the framing, Bauder did all the construction himself.

The project raised some eyebrows in this scenic Southeast Alaska fishing port and mill town about 90 miles south of Juneau.

“There were three people who through the grapevine told me that it was a potential eyesore because it was visible from all over town,” Bauder recalled. “And now it’s the most photographed home in Sitka.”

In spite of virtually no advertising, Rockwell Lighthouse also has become the most hard-to-get overnight lodging in the Alaska Panhandle. It’s open year-round, but summer reservations are recommended four to five months in advance. Most of next August already is booked.

Although the lighthouse was built primarily as a romantic getaway, its little red beacon does aid mariners entering the island-studded sound. The Coast Guard even commissioned the building in July, 1985, making it sort of an honorary lighthouse.

The white-and-red lighthouse is a cozy escape from Sitka’s weather, which usually is wet and cool even in summer. The interior walls are covered with cedar, black walnut, hemlock, fir. The spiral lattice staircase is handmade of Philippine mahogany.

“It’s a cut above rustic,” Bauder said modestly.

There are all the amenities of home except a television. Don’t even think of asking Bauder if you can bring one.

“I say if you want to watch television, why even go out there? The background music with the stereo system is an imperative to me, but the visual? You’re inundated with the visual everywhere you look,” Bauder said.

The entire lighthouse rents for $125 per night for up to five people. The hot tub is an extra $35.

Above the round living room is the tower with three small bedrooms, including an intimate cupola room with 10 picture windows affording the 360-degree view.

The lighthouse boosted Bauder’s reputation for being somewhat eccentric, a description he savors.

“For sure,” he said. “Eccentric--away from the center. But that’s not by design. That’s just who I am.”

The success of his island retreat has exceeded even Bauder’s expectations.

“It is a romantic place,” he said. “It is private, it is beautiful. At the risk of paraphrasing John Denver, it fills up your senses.”

In the living room is a collection of guest books, filled with the remembrances of hundreds of visitors.

They tell of sunny views of volcanic Mt. Edgecumbe, of nights spent weathering violent winter storms. Gushing newlyweds declare their love with words and little hearts. And would-be poets try their hand at verse.

“We cannot tell you how much we enjoyed our stay--the fog, the beautiful views, the eagle-watching,” a Florida couple wrote.

“When we’re back home in the terrible heat, we’ll think of July in Sitka with the fireplace roaring.”