Little Red Lighthouse
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| Jeffrey's Hook Light | |
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| Location: | Hudson River, New York |
| Year first constructed: | 1889 |
| Year first lit: | 1921 (current tower in this location) |
| Deactivated: | 1947-2002 |
| Foundation: | concrete |
| Construction: | cast iron |
| Tower shape: | conical |
| Markings/Pattern: | red with white lantern |
| Focal Height: | 40 ft (12m) |
| Current lens: | 300mm |
| Characteristic: | Fl White, 3s |
| ARLHS number: | USA-408 |
| USCG number: | 1-37668 |
| Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Fort Washington Park, New York, New York |
| Coordinates: | 40°51′0″N 73°56′52″W / 40.85°N 73.94778°WCoordinates: 40°51′0″N 73°56′52″W / 40.85°N 73.94778°W |
| Area: | 0 acres (0 ha) |
| Built/Founded: | 1920 |
| Governing body: | Local |
| MPS: | Hudson River Lighthouses TR |
| Added to NRHP: | May 29, 1979 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 79003130 |
The Little Red Lighthouse, officially Jeffrey's Hook Light is a small lighthouse on the Hudson River in New York City. It was made famous by the 1942 children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward.[5]
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[edit] Location
The lighthouse stands on Jeffrey’s Hook, a small point at the base of the eastern pier of the George Washington Bridge, which connects the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan to Fort Lee, New Jersey. The shoreline north and south of the lighthouse makes up Fort Washington Park. Access to the lighthouse is either via a steep footpath leading down from the north side of the bridge or, somewhat more easily, via the riverside promenade leading south to Riverside Park and Riverbank State Park.
[edit] History
A lighthouse was first established here in 1889. The current structure was built as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where it stood until 1917. It was reconstructed here in 1921 as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and was in operation until 1947.
The proposed dismantling of the lighthouse in 1951 resulted in a public outcry, largely from fans of Swift's book, leading to the preservation of the lighthouse by the City of New York/Parks & Recreation. The lighthouse is now a New York City Landmark (New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission) and was relighted by the city in 2002.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse in 1979. There are tours on an infrequent basis, especially on the Little Red Lighthouse Festival day in mid-September and Open House New York day in October.
[edit] The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
Published in 1942, this children's book uses the story of the building of the George Washington Bridge next to the small lighthouse to affirm the idea that even the small are important. The book begins by introducing the lighthouse and its job of warning the boats on the busy Hudson River of the rocks nearby. Every night a man climbs up to the top of the lighthouse and turns on its flashing light. When there is fog, the man additionally turns on the lighthouse's fog bell. The lighthouse is pleased with and proud of its important job.
In the middle section of the book, the lighthouse watches, mystified, as men build a great gray bridge right next to it. When the bridge is finished, it towers above the lighthouse, which now feels small and unimportant. Even worse, one night a light begins to flash atop the bridge's tower, and the lighthouse is convinced that it is no longer needed.
That night, a storm whips up and fog clutches at the boats. But the man does not come to activate the lighthouse, confirming its fears that it will never shine again. But the boats cannot see the light high atop the bridge, and without the lighthouse's light or bell, the "fat black tug" crashes upon the rocks nearby. The bridge calls to the lighthouse, reassuring it that it is still needed, "each to his own place." The man finally arrives, complaining that some boys had stolen his keys. The lighthouse resumes its job, glad that it still has work to do. Though it now knows that it is small, it is still very proud.
The book ends by encouraging the reader to go to Riverside Drive in New York City and "see for yourself" the lighthouse next to the bridge. The "great gray bridge" is clearly the George Washington Bridge, though it is not named in the book. Construction on the bridge began in 1927, only six years after the lighthouse was erected at its current location, and concluded in 1931.
[edit] References
- ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 312. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/Lightlists.htm.
- ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHNY.asp.
- ^ a b "Lighthouses of of the U.S.: Downstate New York". Russ Rowlett. 2009-12-28. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/nydn.htm.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ Swift, Hildegarde (1942). Lynd Ward (illustrator). Harcourt, Brace, and World. The 2002 edition is ISBN=0-15-204571-6
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