Deer Island Light

Deer Island Light

The original 1890 light, replaced in 1982.
Location	Boston Harbor
Coordinates	42°20′23.461″N 70°57′16.225″W / 42.33985028°N 70.95450694°W / 42.33985028; -70.95450694Coordinates: 42°20′23.461″N 70°57′16.225″W / 42.33985028°N 70.95450694°W / 42.33985028; -70.95450694
Year first lit	1890, current structure 1984
Automated	1960
Foundation	Brick cylinder on steel and concrete caisson
Construction	Fiberglass Tower
Tower shape	Cylindrical
Markings / pattern	Red Brown
Focal height	53 ft (16 m)
Original lens	5th order Fresnel lens
Current lens	VRB-25
Range	11nm
Characteristic	Alt WR 10s
Fog signal	Original: Bell current: HORN 1 every 10s
Admiralty number	J0324
ARLHS number	USA-1096
USCG number	1-10795 [1] [2] [3]

Deer Island Light is a lighthouse in Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts. The United States Coast Guard Light List^[1] description is "Red cylindrical tower; black cylindrical pier". The actual light is 53 feet (16 m) above Mean High Water. Its alternating white and red light is visible for 11 nautical miles (20 km).

The light is at the end of a reef that extends about 1,500 ft (450m) south from the island. The location first had a stone beacon in 1832. The first light, a sparkplug type light, was lit in 1890. It cost about $50,000. It included a three story dwelling, a veranda with boat davits, and a circular parapet. The water supply was a cistern in the base of the structure. A spiral staircase ran from the cellar to the top floor. It had a fixed white light, which was changed to flashing red every thirty seconds and then to the present alternating red and white flashes. The old light gradually deteriorated and was replaced in 1982 by a white fiberglass tower. The white tower raised complaints because it blended in with the background and was hard to see, so the Coast Guard moved it to Great Point Light, Nantucket, as a temporary replacement when that tower was destroyed by a storm in March, 1984. The present tower was installed immediately thereafter. While the Spark plug light was interesting, it was much more expensive to maintain than the fiberglass structure now in place. Imported from England, the pole light was the first of its kind in the United States.^[3]

Gallery

Deer Island Light in 2009, with Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant digesters in the background.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (PDF) Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 89. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/LightList%20V1.pdf. 
2. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMA.asp. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Rowlett, Russ (2009-09-08). "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Massachusetts". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/ma.htm.