The Little Red Lighthouse, officially Jeffrey's Hook Light, is a small
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
located in
Fort Washington Park along the
Hudson River
The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, under the
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee in Bergen County, New Jersey, with the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named after George W ...
.
It was made notable by the 1942 children's book ''The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge'', written by
Hildegarde Swift and illustrated by
Lynd Ward.
The lighthouse stands on Jeffrey's Hook, a small point of land that supports the base of the eastern pier of the bridge, which connects
Washington Heights in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
to
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades.
As of the 2020 Uni ...
.
History
The first attempt to reduce Hudson River traffic accidents at Jeffrey's Hook was a red pole that was hung out over the river.
[ New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Historic plaque on the lighthouse] A 10 candle-power light was added to the pole in 1889 to help alert the increasing river traffic to the spit of land at night. The land around Jeffrey's Hook was acquired by the city in 1896 and later became Fort Washington Park.
The early structure was built as the North Hook Beacon at
Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where it stood until 1917, when it became obsolete.
It was reconstructed at its current location in 1921 by the
United States Lighthouse Board as part of a project to improve Hudson River navigational aids, and originally had a battery-powered lamp and a fog bell. It was operated by a part-time lighthouse keeper.
Construction on the George Washington Bridge, immediately above the lighthouse, started in 1927.
When George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931,
the lighthouse navigational light was considered obsolete, so the Coast Guard decommissioned it, and put it out in 1948, with the intention of auctioning it off.
The proposed dismantling of it resulted in a public outcry, largely from children who were fans of the 1942 children's book, ''The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge''. This led the Coast Guard to sign its deed to the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on July 23, 1951.
The lighthouse was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as "Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse" in 1979,
["Little Red Lighthouse"](_blank)
, Washington Heights & Inwood Online, NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation, August 2001, accessed February 27, 2012 and was designated a
New York City Landmark in 1991.
In 2002, it was relit by the city.
[
]
Access
Public access to the lighthouse is by the Hudson River Greenway, reachable to the north by a footbridge across the Henry Hudson Parkway at West 182nd Street and Riverside Drive, and to the south by footbridges at West 158th Street or 151st Street.
Tours of the lighthouse are given infrequently. They are arranged by the Parks Department's Urban Park Rangers, especially on the Little Red Lighthouse Festival day in late September and Open House New York
Open House New York (OHNY) is a cultural nonprofit organization that holds annual Doors Open Days. It was founded in 2001 in New York City.
Organization
Open House New York (OHNY) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts educational pr ...
day in October. The October Little Red Lighthouse Festivals in 2018 and 2019 were run by the organization Summer on the Hudson in conjunction with the Riverside Park Conservancy and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The festival was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, but it resumed in 2022.
In other media
The lighthouse is an important setting in the final scenes for the 1948 film '' Force of Evil'', and Jane Campion
Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...
's neo-noir film ''In the Cut'' features the lighthouse as motif and as a filming location.
See also
* List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan above 110th Street
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 110th Street
References
External links
Official website
Historic House Trust
{{Authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1921
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Tourist attractions in Manhattan
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Transportation buildings and structures in Manhattan
Relocated buildings and structures in New York City