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Lighthouses





These are lighthouses I have seen and visited. Although the photos aren't mine, I scanned the internet to find photos that allow you to see their beauty.



Jeffrey's Hook
New York, New York


Below the George Washington Bridge, on the New York City shore, this pretty lighthouse stands. She was commissioned in 1921 and served the Hudson River mariners until her retirement in 1947. A children's book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Big Grey Bridge by Hildegarde Swift about Jeffrey's Hook saved this lighthouse when millions of children who read it spoke out against the USCG's selling and dismantling of this lighthouse. Today, there are guided tours. The best time to see this lighthouse is in the Fall during the "Little Red Lighthouse Festival" when there are tours of the lighthouse, food, photo displays, and even a reading of the famous children's storybook. Jeffrey's Hook is located in Fort Washington Park, on 178th Street and the Hudson River. To get there, you have to go to Lafayette Place and W. 181st Street, take the steps, footpath and then a footbridge over the highway down to the park and south to the lighthouse.
Photo: Joseph Szarmach




Lightship Chesapeake
Baltimore Inner Harbor, Maryland


Built in 1930, for the U.S. Lighthouse Service, and stationed at Fenwick Island, Delaware, she served as a floating lighthouse. She also provided weather information and helped in rescue operations. Since 1933, The Lightship Chesapeake has marked the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. AT 133 feet long, it had a complement of 5 officers, 10 seamen, and 1 cook which served 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. In her duty time, she was drafted into World War II as a harbor patrol and security vessel in Sandwich, MA near the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal. She was in Delaware Bay until she was transferred to the National Park Service in 1971 where she became an environmental classroom. After being transferred to the city of Baltimore in 1982, she finally became a museum in 1988. She is now a National Historic Landmark.




Navesink Twin Lights
Higlands, New Jersey


Built in 1862, these "twin" light towers are 64 feet high and 320 feet apart from one another. They are connected by the keeper's and crew's house which was made out of brownstone. The north tower is octagonal and the south tower is square. Although the north tower was taken out of service in 1898, it wasn't until 1952 that the light towers were retired. Today, one can visit the north tower and the keeper's house is a museum.
Photo: Donald W. Carter




Old Point Loma
San Diego, California

Built in 1855, this Cape Cod styled lighthouse rises from the center of the keeper's house. It is 44 feet tall. It was retired after only 36 years in service because it failed to guide ships in the low-lying fog of the Pacific as the lighthouse was built on the hills where its light shone above the fog. Another lighthouse was built instead in 1891 at sea level. Today, visitors can view it as part of the Cabrillo National Monument.
Photo: Mark Bisson




Peggy's Point
Nova Scotia, Canada

Located in Peggy's Cove at the entrance to St. Margaret's Bay in Canada, this lighthouse replaced an earlier wooden one in 1915. She is a white octagonal concrete tower standing 50 feet high and is 50 feet west of the original lighthouse. In 1969, the iron lantern at the top of the tower was painted red. The lighthouse today is a gift shop, and in the summer months she acts as a post office as well. The keeper's house is a gift shop.
Photo: Kevin Sebesky




Point Bolivar Lighthouse
Point Bolivar, TX

Point Bolivar lighthouse, built in 1872 of brick and cast iron is located on Highway 124. It is accessible by ferry from Galveston, Texas. It stands 116 feet tall and its original appearance was that of a white and black banded exterior. After 61 years of service guiding mariners in the Gulf Coast Point Bolivar was deactivated in 1933. It has since been privately owned and not maintained leaving the exterior to rust into a uniform black color. No visitors are allowed.
Photo: Jack Owen




Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse
Baltimore, Maryland


This lighthouse was built in 1856, marked the entrance to Baltimore harbor, and served 133 years. She is the oldest "screwpile" lighthouse in existance. Late on a summer's night in 1933, her keeper, William J. Steinheise risked his life to assist the tugboat Point Breeze which was in distress. He took to the 15-foot seas and 90 mph winds in a small motor boat and rescued 5 crewmen. He received the Congressional Medal of Valor for this heroic deed. After WWII, the lighthouse was automated, and although the Coast Guard maintained the light, the building was no longer maintained. In 1988, she was moved to Baltimore's Inner Harbor and was donated to Baltimore City in 1989 to be preserved as a National Historic Landmark. Through the efforts of many, including the Steinheise family, she was restored, and became part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum in 1997.




LINKS:

Baltimore Maritime Museum





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