Lighthouse of the Week, May 26 - June 1, 2024: Navesink Twin Towers, New Jersey, USA

 

When I first looked for a lighthouse for this week, I didn't think about it being the Memorial Day holiday weekend. I just suddenly said to myself, "I wonder what lighthouses are in New Jersey?"  I've featured a few of the famous ones:  Cape May, Sandy Hook, Sea Girt -- but this one is historic and famous too. In fact, it is so noteworthy that if I make a trip to New York sometime, I might go see this one, partly for the lighthouse and partly for the view of Manhattan.

So it has a lot of history, and quite a few web pages about it, including it's own website. So let's start with the location;  zoomed out so its location with respect to Raritan Bay and New York.

Next up, the information from the Lighthouse Directory, and there's quite a bit. There's actually one for each tower.

North Tower: "1862 (Joseph Lederle, architect). Station established 1828. Reactivated (inactive 1898-1962, now maintained by the state of New Jersey); focal plane 246 ft (75 m); white light 5 s on, 5 s off. 6th order Fresnel lens (1881) in use. 73 ft (22 m) octagonal cylindrical brownstone tower with lantern and gallery, linked by an ornate, fortress-like structure to the south tower.

South Tower: "1862 (Joseph Lederle, architect). Station established 1828. Inactive since 1953. 73 ft (22 m) square cylindrical brownstone tower with lantern and gallery, linked by an ornate, 2-story fortress-like brownstone keeper's quarters to the north tower. The station's rare 1st order bivalve Fresnel lens (1898), restored in 1999, is on display in the brick electric generator building (1909) [see below]. The former keeper's quarters now house a museum. ... The Twin Lights are not identical twins, since this tower is square and the north tower is octagonal. For a century Navesink Twin Lights was the landfall light for vessels bound for New York, so it was one of the country's most important lighthouses. It was also a showplace for the lighthouse service. This is the first U.S. light station to be equipped with Fresnel lenses (1841), the first to burn kerosene (1883), and the first to be equipped with electric power (1898)."

Definitely a good and historical lighthouse.  

Some websites:

Twin Lights Historical Society

Navesink Lighthouse, New Jersey, at Lighthouse Friends

The New Twin Lights at Navesink (Monmouth County History)

Pictures and StreetView shown below. In the first, the different shape of the two towers can be clearly seen. The fourth picture is in honor of Memorial Day 2024, and the sixth is the rare Fresnel lens.

StreetView: