Tour Manhattan’s only lighthouse at Fort Washington Park this Saturday

If looking to learn more about historic New York City this weekend, head over to Fort Washington Park and check out the Little Red Lighthouse, Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse. The city’s Urban Park Rangers are hosting a tour this Saturday, June 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. and will be on hand to provide information about this unique landmark (h/t Time Out).

First constructed at Sandy Hook beach in New Jersey in 1880, the lighthouse was later reconstructed in 1921 on Jeffery’s Hook, a small piece of land that supports the base of the George Washington Bridge. When the bridge’s construction was completed in 1931, the lighthouse was considered obsolete and the Coast Guard decommissioned it in 1948.

A few decades later, it became the subject of the popular children’s book “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge” by Hildegarde Swift, published in 1942. The story follows the construction of the massive bridge that towers over the small lighthouse, focusing on the idea that small things can be important too. The popularity of the book, which encouraged readers to visit the Little Red Lighthouse, prevented the structure from being demolished.

The Little Red Lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and later was designated a city landmark in 1991. In 2002, NYC relit the lighthouse.

Admission to the event comes on a first come, first-served basis, so get to the entrance at 181st Street and Plaza Lafayette early. Enter Fort Washington Park at 181st Street and Plaza Lafayette. Find more information about the event here.

[Via Time Out NY]

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