Tourists visiting the Big Apple fill a bucket list of attractions to check out — hot spots like the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the Empire State Building. But decades before the heyday of Ellis Island as an immigration checkpoint, the United States Lighthouse Service General Depot was established as a logistics hub to make trade possible.
Now the original site known as Building 11, circa 1864, serves as the National Lighthouse Museum. It is dedicated to shining a light on the legacy of maritime sentinels. Its gift shop both supports lighthouse heritage and spreads the word about the earliest navigation tool.
Every T-shirt, hat and tote guests purchase is wearable advertising, points out Linda Dianto, executive director.
Small souvenirs, such as books, postcards, ornaments, tote bags and even miniature lighthouses, are plentiful at the gift shop.
Photos: Amanda Lee Domenech
Dianto is at the helm of the growing museum and gift shop, which opened to the public in 2015 and has become a destination for locals, travelers, school groups — and delightfully surprising visitors like Queen Anne, who toured the museum in 2022 and praised its global advocacy initiatives. She is honorary chair of the museum’s Illuminating Future Generations campaign.
As awareness for the museum grows, so does traffic in its gift shop, the entry point where visitors purchase tour tickets and departure point after their time there.
Stowable souvenirs
From palm-sized souvenirs like pins and keychains to mini foghorns, Christmas ornaments and lighthouse models, the gift shop’s offerings cater to guests of all ages. Dianto says, “Tourists want small items to take back with them because they don’t have space in their luggage.”
Scarves, men’s ties and socks are easy to fit in a carry-on or a daypack to ferry back to Manhattan. (The boat trip is about 25 minutes.)
Visitors reach for postcards depicting the lighthouse and Staten Island, along with notecards. Most are looking for the museum’s tower and beacon logo, which they can find on everything from stickers and magnets to canvas bags.
Dianto also looks for lighthouse-inspired and maritime art for printing on bags or notecards, offering visitors more of a watercolor look. The same is true for keychains, pins and ornaments by Urban Charm. Some picture the museum, others honor the other historic lighthouses on Staten Island (there are 10 on-shore and off-shore), such as West Bank Light, Sandy Hook Light and Robin’s Reef Light.
The museum ushers in a lot of holiday guests, making ornaments an ideal seasonal souvenir. Dianto displays them on rotating racks.
Overall, presentation and positioning boost sales. Dianto leverages vendor-provided displays and opts to showcase items like books on shelves and apparel on hangers. Magnets cling to a board that spins.
“We notice that products that come with a display sell the best because we have a rack built for them that catch people’s eyes,” Dianto explains.
When arranging products in the store, Dianto acts like a tourist.
Souvenir tees hang on a rack that’s sure to draw attention.
“We look at presentation from the perspective of a visitor and we move things around because that’s important,” she relates. “If something isn’t selling in one corner, maybe it should be moved to the top of a display or put on the counter. Counter items tend to sell first as impulse buys while visitors are buying their museum passes.”
Guests pick up something small as they order tickets, scan the shop and return for other items, such as color-changing drinkware. The mug looks blue, but once hot coffee is poured inside, it reveals a National Lighthouse Museum logo. Camp mugs and thermoses also move fast, Dianto says.
And those seeking home goods can bring home candles in scents such as Salted Sea. Earrings, bracelets and charm necklaces in nautical motifs range from lighthouses to anchors, oyster shells, sailboats and Staten Island namedrop. A wearable bookmark doubles as a bauble.
Beaded jewelry extends to pocketbooks and coin purses. These souvenirs and gifts are also ferry-ready and easy to transport back to the mainland, Dianto says.
Seaworthy finds
Beyond museum tickets, the gift shop also offers passes for seasonal boat tours guided by a maritime historian for visiting remote lighthouses and ship graveyards. Sometimes guests aren’t fully prepared for windy conditions, cool New York harbor breezes or the ocean’s misty spray.
Apparel from the gift store comes in handy for unprepared guests — T-shirts, hoodies, zip-up sweatshirts and crewnecks in all sizes, along with logoed hats and umbrellas.
The gift shop anticipates guests impulse purchases for events, as well. For example, the museum participates in a local scavenger hunt where visitors stop at the island’s various lighthouses to collect stickers and snap selfies.
These events usher more guests into the store, Dianto says. A variety of maritime gifts that commemorate different lighthouses appeal to those who found a particular site interesting or want to collect them all.
The souvenirs sometimes play on exhibit experiences. For example, one exhibit is a Wall of Lights with miniature, donor-sponsored lighthouse models representing 29 states surround a giant model. “We sell lighthouse models, so you can see the Wall of Lights and our shop has a display so guests can take a lighthouse replica home with them,” says Dianto.
Another exhibit-shop adjacency: the museum houses historic artifacts such as foghorns and Fresnel lenses. In fact, one exhibit showcases a first-order Fresnel lens that was used in a lighthouse from the Colonial period.
Visitors can find pint-sized souvenir versions in the store — foghorn whistles for kids and Fresnel lens keychains for visitors fascinated with the early scientific innovation for projecting light.
Visitors who get hooked on the history and make visiting lighthouses a new hobby can purchase a lighthouse passport from the United States Lighthouse Society and fill it with stamps from across the country.
The shop’s dual mission is actually a quadruple win: supporting a legacy and spreading awareness — while sparking historical passion and celebrating a renowned space. Staff are proud advocates, welcoming visitors with tickets to explore and souvenirs that give back.
“Visitors can take home items as a gift or memento, and their purchases help us raise funds to keep the lights on,” she says of what’s literally a monumental effort. She adds, “This is why museum gift stores are so valuable.”
