Nantucket's got a new star on the Island. No, it's not a celebrity. The Star of the Sea Youth Hostel has a new face at its’ original location at Surfside. In celebration of the completed renovations, the staff of the hostel invited Plum to come and see the new face of the buildings.Jessica Sutich, Marketing Coordinator for New England's Hostelling International, said "We did a lot of renovations recently. The house is now handicapped accessible. There are ramps to the main and back buildings, and a handicapped accessible bathroom."The significance behind the renovations isn't just in the ramps that make the hostel more handicapped-accessible, but also in preserving some of the rich history of the building.Deborah Ruhe, Executive Director of Eastern New England Hostels, helped bring the buildings back to life with amazing efforts. "The hostel has been here since the 1960s," she said, "It's a historic building, and we needed to do a lot of preservation work. We've done four years of projects."Many people are unaware of the rich history behind the former Lifesaving Station down on Western Avenue in Surfside. Jeremy Slavitz, Lifesaving Museum Curator on Nantucket was on-hand to tell us about the history of the building. "This structure is the oldest U.S. Lifesaving Service structure on its' original foundation in the country," he said, "[At the time it was built] hundreds of vessels were passing the Island every day. Sumner Kimball chose this as a site for the Island's first lifesaving station."The structure has been at the current location since 1874, and it is still standing today."I think [the renovation of the hostel] is wonderful," said Bob Sylvia, Director of Hostel Operations, "We're obviously very grateful for the Island's contributions to the hostel. These renovations have allowed us to offer a better product, and to advance." The cost of staying in the hostel during summer months (the hostel is seasonal) is around $30 per night, per person, compared to hotels on the Island charging a few hundred dollars per night during peak season."Hostels are a great, low-budget way to travel. We have a wide demographic of people who come out [to stay at the hostels]," said Sutich.The hostels renovations were made possible through funding from a great deal of people. Check out their commemorative plaque in our slideshow below.
For more information on Nantucket's Star of the Sea Hostel, check out their website.
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