New London — The Lighthouse Inn, a beloved local social and historical landmark, is reopening its doors to the public this fall for the first time in more than a decade.

Lighthouse Inn owner Alwyn Christy, who is still hard at work on renovations, has agreed to host a New London Maritime Society fundraiser with a limited number of guests. The wine tasting and silent auction is scheduled for Oct. 15.

Maritime Society Executive Director Susan Tamulevich said nearly 100 tickets for the event were sold immediately after the announcement. It’s exciting, she said, and a testament to the curiosity and shared memories of locals yearning for a peek inside.

The fundraiser originally was scheduled for Sept. 3 but construction delays and recent coronavirus developments pushed the date out.

For years, the Lighthouse Inn on Guthrie Place was the go-to spot for not only food and music but all sorts of celebrations. Countless residents still have fond memories of its glory days.

The fundraiser comes at a time when the Maritime Society, like many other nonprofits, has suffered from a dearth of funding. Its Custom House Maritime Museum on Bank Street was closed for 63 weeks because of the pandemic and it did not hold its annual fundraiser last year.

This year’s fundraiser is a special event, Tamulevich said, because of plans to honor Christy for his work in restoring the inn along with retired city Economic Development Director Ned Hammond. Hammond had worked to save and market the landmark, which was acquired by the city at a tax auction in 2013.

During that time, Hammond had tasked Tamulevich with setting up a Lighthouse Inn Facebook page in an effort to generate interest from a buyer willing to restore the inn.

The property was developed in 1902 as Meadow Court, a summer home for steel magnate Charles S. Guthrie with grounds landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, whose firm designed New York’s Central Park. The home was later converted into a restaurant and hotel in the 1920s, and by the 1940s was a popular spot for business meetings, weddings and occasional visits from movie stars.

After years of decline, the inn closed in 2008.

Christy and a business partner purchased the property at an auction in 2016 and, though delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, have continued work to overhaul the structure. Christy tentatively has plans to open the restaurant by the end of the year. He has said the restoration of the upstairs guest rooms will take longer.

Christy could not be reached for comment for this report.

In addition to honoring Christy and Hammond, Tamulevich, in a statement, said, “this event is a tribute, too, to the local community, who never gave up on the Inn! We are excited to help reintroduce this remarkable local landmark, which means so much to the New London community.”

Tickets are $75 for the event and can be purchased at the New London Maritime Society website, nlmaritimesociety.org.

g.smith@theday.com