Little Red Lighthouse

Little Red Lighthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Hudson River and George Washington Bridge, Manhattan, New York City, New York State
Built	1880 originally, moved 1921
NRHP reference No.	79003130
Added to NRHP	1979

Lighthouse and bridge, facing east

The Little Red Lighthouse (officially known as the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse) is a small lighthouse located 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.

Location

The Little Red Lighthouse stands on a small point called Jeffrey’s Hook at the base of the eastern pillar 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.

History

The lighthouse was erected in 1880 as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where it stood until 1917. It was reconstructed in 1921 in its current location by the United States Bureau of Lighthouses 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 listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 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.

In Popular Culture

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 .

The lighthouse appears in a scene near the conclusion of the sexual thriller In the Cut.

The television show "Law and Order" has used the Lighthouse and the surrounding area as locations during several episodes.

External links

• Official NYC Parks Site
• Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse - from Lighthousefriends.com
• National Lighthouse Center and Museum webpage