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Throughout the 19th century, expanding America's bustling shipping corridors depended on a network of sturdy, often lonely lighthouses. Superseded by improved navigational technology, only about 600 of these romantic coastal towers are left; many face extinction. Here are five that preservationists are working to save.
Photo Caption: The Little Red Lighthouse in Manhattan. Shot in Henry Hudson Park under the George Washington Bridge. Photo by N.A. Van Auken/Frommers.com Community
On the Isle of Shoals, 10 miles off the New Hampshire coast, poet Celia Thaxter lived as a child in this white 1859 brick-and-stone lighthouse on White Island. It's still a working light (though now automated), but it was badly battered in storms in 1984, 1991, and 2007. However, an enthusiastic group of seventh-graders is working to restore its severely cracked interior.
More Information: www.lighthousekids.org
Photo Caption: Lighthouse on New Hampshire's White Island. Photo by InAweofGod'sCreation/Flickr.com
New England's most powerful light shone since 1850 from this white-and-red-striped, brick-and-granite structure overlooking dangerous shoals on the outer end of Nantucket Island. Over the years it became a popular tourist attraction, with particularly breathtaking views from its 90-foot-high (70m) bluff. Erosion of the steep bluff threatened its existence, however, and in 2007 the entire lighthouse was moved 405 feet (122m) inland.
More Information: www.sconsettrust.org
Photo Caption: Sankaty Head in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Photo by Tim Sackton/Flickr.com
The Esopus Lighthouse -- aka the Middle Hudson Lighthouse or "the Maid of the Meadows" -- was opened in 1871 to warn Hudson River craft of treacherous mud flats. Growing out of the roof of a substantial white-frame house squeezed onto a granite pier in the middle of the river, it had become seriously dilapidated by 1990. A major restoration saved it from collapse; its light was finally turned back on in 2003.
More Information: www.esopuslighthouse.org
Photo Caption: Esopus Lighthouse in New York's Hudson River. Photo by JoelK75/Flickr.com
It's been built and rebuilt three times since 1847 -- first to correct a Pisa-like tilt, then to replace the tower blown up by Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. The third time was the charm, and now this 150-foot-high (45m), black-and-white banded stone tower can be seen for miles. Though it's not as tall as its famous neighbor, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Bodie's light still operates, warning ships of the perilous Outer Banks waters.
More Information: www.nps.gov/caha
Photo Caption: Bodie Island Lighthouse in Cape Hatteras, NC. Photo by smile4camera/Frommers.com Community
Photo Caption: The Little Red Lighthouse in Manhattan. Shot in Henry Hudson Park under the George Washington Bridge. Photo by N.A. Van Auken/Frommers.com Community
More Information: www.lighthousekids.org
Photo Caption: Lighthouse on New Hampshire's White Island. Photo by InAweofGod'sCreation/Flickr.com
More Information: www.sconsettrust.org
Photo Caption: Sankaty Head in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Photo by Tim Sackton/Flickr.com
More Information: www.esopuslighthouse.org
Photo Caption: Esopus Lighthouse in New York's Hudson River. Photo by JoelK75/Flickr.com
More Information: www.nps.gov/caha
Photo Caption: Bodie Island Lighthouse in Cape Hatteras, NC. Photo by smile4camera/Frommers.com Community