The Lighthouse Featured on Connecticut License Plates Can Be (Partially) Yours

If you're on the hunt for a new home in Connecticut that has a claim to fame, we've got just the place for you. In the Constitution State, drivers can choose to buy special license plates that feature an image of a lighthouse and the words "Preserve the Sound" as a symbol of their "commitment to the preservation of Connecticut's most valuable natural resource"—a.k.a., Long Island Sound. According to the Connecticut Post, the lighthouse that appears on the plates is currently up for sale, as part of a beach compound that is on the market for $12.8 million.

The light in The Outer Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, built in 1886, is maintained by the Coast Guard, but the rest of the lighthouse will be the responsibility of the new owner of the five-bedroom Victorian style residence located on a beach nearby. The house features 7600-square-feet of space, a media room, roof deck, chef's kitchen, and access to a private yacht club, golf course as well as the beach. Still, the lighthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, may be the property's most unique feature.

Christina DeRose, Flickr // CC BY 2.0

While it all may sound like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, buyers have actually been given several chances to buy the lighthouse in the past, according to the Hartford Courant.

In accordance with The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the lighthouse has to be transferred to new owners through a two-part process. First, it was offered to nonprofit organizations for $1 with the stipulation that they would have to handle the costs of maintaining it. There were no takers, and in 2013 there was reportedly a $340,000 deal on the table that fell through. The lighthouse was eventually sold at auction last summer to the owner of Katharine Hepburn's former estate for $290,000. And now, it's up for sale again.

Images via Sotheby's International Realty unless otherwise stated