Ever since Dave Waller purchased the lighthouse at auction in 2013, he’s been working to restore the beacon to its former glory. Waller originally wanted to renovate the lighthouse and turn it into a bed and breakfast, but getting out there is simply too difficult — and sometimes dangerous — so he scrapped that plan.

This wreath now adorns the front entrance to Graves Light.

The privately owned beacon is surrounded by water and only accessible by boat .

The owners of Graves Light recently posted a holiday video that provides a rare glimpse of their historic lighthouse, which sits on a rocky ledge in Boston Harbor.


On Dec. 24, Waller tweeted a video of himself rowing out to Graves Light with the evergreen wreath that now adorns the front doors of the lighthouse.

“Placing our first Christmas wreath on Graves Light’s massive new oak doors,” he wrote in the tweet.

The video also shows the interior of the lighthouse, which was built in 1903.

“Ever since the Coast Guard discovered the original blueprints for the station, we’ve been trying to faithfully reproduce all missing details, and this month installed a new set of heavy oak entry doors, painted regulation red, of course,” Waller said in an e-mail to the Globe.

Waller said the doors were built by Don Conry, a seasoned wooden boat builder from Waldoboro, Maine. The addition of radiators on every floor makes the atmosphere inside the lighthouse “downright cozy,” he said.

“Even though the lighthouse is buttoned up tight for the winter, we can enjoy it year round thanks to central heat and solar power,” Waller said. “The winter birds have replaced the summer birds and the seals are mostly gone, but it’s beautiful here any time of year!”

Placing our first Christmas wreath on Graves Light's massive new oak doors. @BostonGlobe #Boston pic.twitter.com/oxiyaDBuHa — Keeper (@Graveslight) December 25, 2018

Video shot and edited by Petr Hijl. Music by David Coffin


Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.