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The Navesink Twin Lights is a non-operational
A lighthouse existed on the site since 1828, when it became an important guide and landmark for ships navigating the treacherous entrances to New York Harbor.
The current lighthouse was constructed in 1862. The non-identical towers by day and the two beacons by night—one flashing and one fixed—allowed ready identification by mariners of the identity of the facility, thus allowing a rough determination of their location approaching the harbor.
This was the first American lighthouse to test a Fresnel lens and was also the site of a demonstration by Marconi of the wireless telegraph in 1899. A bi-valve fresnel lens is on display in the museum.
The north tower light was discontinued in 1898; at the same time the south tower was electrified, one of the first lighthouses in the United States to do so. It was automated in 1949, but was discontinued in 1952 as the importance of the light diminished.
In 1962, the site was turned over to the state of New Jersey, by the Borough of Highlands.0MB No. 1024-0018 NAVESINK LIGHT STATION United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service Page 20 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form The sixth order lens was previously acquired and installed in the north tower by the Shrewsbury Power Squadron and presented to the town which reactivated the north tower as a private aid to navigation. This light remains active.
Lighthouses of New York Harbor - Navesink Twin Lights
* {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1862 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey Lighthouse museums in New Jersey National Historic Landmark lighthouses National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Highlands, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey 1862 establishments in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Transportation buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses m ...
and museum located in Highlands, Monmouth County, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, United States, overlooking Sandy Hook Bay
The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is a subregion of the larger Jersey Shore. It is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, including the towns of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, ...
, the entrance to the New York Harbor
New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...
and the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The Twin Lights, as the name implies, are a pair of beacons located above sea level on the headlands of the Navesink Highlands
The Navesink Highlands, sometimes referred to as the Highlands of Navesink and also known as the Atlantic Highlands, is a range of low hills and upland areas located along the United States Atlantic coast in New Jersey. The hills of the Highlands r ...
.
In 1962, the State of New Jersey acquired Twin Lights. At the current museum facility, tours of the lighthouse, a climb of the North Tower and its expansive ocean view, and a view of the lighthouse equipment, await visitors. Twin Lights is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, and was designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
in 2006 for its architecture and its role in the development of lighthouse technologies.
The Twin Lights State Historic Site is part of the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route extends along eastern and southern coast of New Jersey for nearly 300 miles. It travels along the Raritan Bay from Perth Amboy to Sandy Hook, along Jersey Shore at the Atlantic Ocean to Cape May, and a ...
.
History
A lighthouse existed on the site since 1828, when it became an important guide and landmark for ships navigating the treacherous entrances to New York Harbor.
The current lighthouse was constructed in 1862. The non-identical towers by day and the two beacons by night—one flashing and one fixed—allowed ready identification by mariners of the identity of the facility, thus allowing a rough determination of their location approaching the harbor.
This was the first American lighthouse to test a Fresnel lens and was also the site of a demonstration by Marconi of the wireless telegraph in 1899. A bi-valve fresnel lens is on display in the museum.
The north tower light was discontinued in 1898; at the same time the south tower was electrified, one of the first lighthouses in the United States to do so. It was automated in 1949, but was discontinued in 1952 as the importance of the light diminished.
In 1962, the site was turned over to the state of New Jersey, by the Borough of Highlands.0MB No. 1024-0018 NAVESINK LIGHT STATION United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service Page 20 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form The sixth order lens was previously acquired and installed in the north tower by the Shrewsbury Power Squadron and presented to the town which reactivated the north tower as a private aid to navigation. This light remains active.
References
External links
Lighthouses of New York Harbor - Navesink Twin Lights
* {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1862 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey Lighthouse museums in New Jersey National Historic Landmark lighthouses National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Highlands, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey 1862 establishments in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Transportation buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey