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Here are some, not all, of the lighthouses we passed as we traveled into New York Harbor and up the Hudson River.
I have chosen some pictures of houses that are architecturally interesting, and some pictures of houses that have interesting
stories to tell. Some of the pictures are muted by haze, which reduces their clarity, but increases their
authenticity.
The pictures are presented in the order we saw them, from south of New York Harbor traveling north up the Hudson
River. The Hudson River Lighthouses, which incorporate a light tower in a house of a unique architectural
style are at the end of the page -- you won't want to miss them, so be sure to scroll down.
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| Coney Island Light 6/2/05 |
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Although this light is 75 feet tall, it is dwarfed by all the urban development around it. The Coney
Island Light has the last remaining civilian lightkeeper in the US Lighthouse Service. Frank Schubert has been serving
here since 1960, and although he is "officially" retired, he still watches over the light from the keeper's house next door.
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| Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse 6/2/05 |
Constructed in 1920, this light had a short useful life before the George Washington Bridge was constructed
above it in the 1930s. The bridge's lights that made the little lighthouse obsolete. The lighthouse
was decommisioned in 1947 and slated for destruction, until it was saved by the outcry of millions of children who loved the
book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge, by Hildegard H. Swift.
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| Esopus light 6/3/05 |
Esopus Lighthouse was completed in 1871, and is the Hudson River's only remaining wooden light. The
keeper's house has 7 rooms -- kitchen, dining and living rooms on the first floor, and bedrooms on the second. Deactivated
1965.
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| Hudson-Athens Lighthouse 6/4/05 |
Built in the Second Empire architectural style in 1873, the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is still an active
aid to navigation. Notice that the north end of its base is shaped like a ship's prow to protect it from ice floe
damage.
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| Robbins Reef Lighthouse 6/2/05 |
Many still call this light which lies in the middle of New York Harbor Kate's Light, after Kate Walker,
who served here 30 years in the early 1900s. Kate rowed her children across the Harbor to school on Staten Island. When
she retired in 1939 and the Coast Guard took over staffing of the house, they posted three men to do the job she did alone
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| Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow 6/2/05 |
Formerly known as Tarrytown Light, this lighthouse was authorized in 1847, but wasn't erected until 1882-83,
due to a controversey over the building site and the exhhorbitant asking price for the land, then a profitable vineyard.
Finally, someone came up with the ingenious solution of building the light offshore, eliminating the need to buy land.
It was in service for 78 years. When the Tappan Zee bridge was completed in 1955, its lights made this little lighthouse
obsolete, and it was deactivated in 1961.
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| Saugerties Lighthouse 6/4/05 |
This lighthouse is now a bed and breakfast inn, furnished as it might have been in the 1920s. It actually
dates back to 1869. Guests reach the inn by a path through nature preserve wetlands, and, according to the Hudson River
Coalition website, the Portajohn on its dock has "one of the best views in the valley."
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