Great Point Light
| Great Point Light | ||
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| Place: | Nantucket , Massachusetts , United States | |
| Location: | Massachusetts , United States | |
| Geographical location: | 41 ° 23 '24.6 " N , 70 ° 2' 53.8" W | |
| Fire carrier height : | 60 ft (18.3 m ) | |
| Fire height : | 71 ft (21.6 m) | |
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| Identifier : | Fl W 5s Red sector from 84 ° to 106 ° |
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| Scope knows: | 14 nm (25.9 km ) | |
| Scope red: | 12 nm (22.2 km ) | |
| Optics: | VRB-25 | |
| Construction time: | 1784/1818/1986 | |
| Operating time: | 1784 to 1984 1986 to date |
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Great Point Light (also Nantucket Light ) is a lighthouse on the northern tip of the island of Nantucket in the territory of the state of Massachusetts of the United States . It is administered by the United States Coast Guard . From 1982 to 1986 the lighthouse was on the National Register of Historic Places .
history
The city fathers of Nantucket commissioned their representative at the Massachusetts General Court in 1770 to use his influence there and to endeavor to build a lighthouse on the island. In fact, on February 5, 1784, the court passed a resolution to erect a lighthouse at the intended location as quickly as possible. On November 11 of the same year, the state approved funding of just under £ 1,090 (today's equivalent of around £ 150,000), and the lighthouse was built that same year. On June 10, 1790, the structure was transferred to the United States on the basis of a corresponding law of August 7, 1789.
In November 1816 the lighthouse was completely destroyed by fire, but the cause could never be clarified. On March 3, 1817, the United States Congress approved funding of $ 7,500 (approximately $ 150,000 today) to fund a new building that was completed in 1818. In 1857 a 3rd order Fresnel lens was installed, and in 1882 mineral oil replaced the previously used pork fat as fuel.
Between 1863 and 1890 it came within range of the lighthouse to a total of 43 shipwrecks, as many captains the lighthouse with the light ship mistook that before the Cross Rip warned -Untiefen, and ran aground. In 1889 a red sector was finally added to the lens of the Great Point Light to warn of the shallows at Cross Rip and Tuckernuck and to make it distinguishable from the lightship.
In 1982 the structure was registered as Nantucket Light under the number 82005272 as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In March 1984 the lighthouse was completely destroyed in a storm and replaced by a new building in 1986; at the same time the entry in the NRHP was deleted. With the support of then Senator Edward Kennedy , $ 2 million was made available to rebuild the lighthouse. The new building was built as a replica based on the original plans from 1818 and cost over a million US dollars. The remaining funds were used to rebuild Cape Poge Light and Monomoy Point Light . Today the lighthouse is part of the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge .
Architecture and technology
The lighthouse has a cylindrical structure and tapers conically upwards. The VRB-25 lens currently in use generates a flash of white light every five seconds that can be seen for 14 nm (25.9 km ). In the sector from 84 ° to 106 ° a red lightning bolt with a range of 12 nm (22.2 km) is generated. The lighthouse does not have a fog horn.
Individual evidence
- ^ Coast Guard Lighthouses. United States Coast Guard , accessed December 7, 2013 .
- ^ Jeremy D'Entremont: Great Point Light history. New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Retrieved December 7, 2013 .
- ^ Light List Volume 1 Atlantic Coast. ( PDF ) St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. United States Department of Homeland Security / United States Coast Guard , 2013, p. 120 , accessed December 7, 2013 .
Web links
- Jeremy D'Entremont: Great Point Lighthouse. New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. Retrieved December 7, 2013 .
