View source for Little Red Lighthouse

{{Short description|Lighthouse in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
| yeardeactivated = 1947–2002
| lens = {{convert|300|mm|disp=flip}}
| module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes
 | name                    = Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse
 | built                   = 1920
 | added                   = May 29, 1979
 | mpsub                   = {{NRHP url|id=64000561|title=Hudson River Lighthouses TR}}
 | refnum                  = 79003130<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
 | designated_other2_name  = New York City Landmark
 | designated_other2_date  = May 14, 1991
 | designated_other2_abbr  = NYCL
 | designated_other2_link  = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
 | designated_other2_color = #FFE978
 }}
}}
The '''Little Red Lighthouse''', officially '''Jeffrey's Hook Light''', is a small [[lighthouse]] located in [[Fort Washington Park (New York)|Fort Washington Park]] along the [[Hudson River]] in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], under the [[George Washington Bridge]].<ref name=cgll>{{Cite uscgll|1|2009|312}}</ref><ref name=cghist>{{cite uscghist|NY}}</ref><ref name="rowlett">{{cite rowlett|nydn|date=2009-12-28}}</ref> 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, Manhattan|Washington Heights]] in [[Manhattan]] to [[Fort Lee, New Jersey]].

==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.<ref name=plaque>[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]]. Historic plaque on the lighthouse</ref> 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.<ref name=plaque />

The early structure was built as the North Hook Beacon at [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey]], where it stood until 1917, when it became obsolete.<ref name=plaque /> 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.<ref name=plaque />

Construction on the George Washington Bridge, immediately above the lighthouse, started in 1927.<ref name="NYTimes-HudsonGroundbreaking-1927">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/09/22/archives/ground-is-broken-for-hudson-bridge-acting-mayor-mckee-digs-earth-at.html|title=GROUND IS BROKEN FOR HUDSON BRIDGE; Acting Mayor McKee Digs Earth at 178th Street, Mayor White on New Jersey Shore. PLANES SOAR OVER RIVER Governors of Both States Heard by Radio on Both Banks From Steamer in Hudson. SEE FRIENDSHIP CEMENTED Smith Says Span Will Increase Prosperity -- Moore Calls It Monument to Progressive Spirit.|date=September 22, 1927|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 5, 2018|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When George Washington Bridge was completed in 1931,<ref name=":22">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/10/25/archives/two-governors-open-great-hudson-bridge-as-throngs-look-on-5000.html|title=Two Governors Open Great Hudson Bridge As Throngs Look On|date=October 25, 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 6, 2010|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the lighthouse navigational light was considered obsolete,<ref>{{cite aia5|page=570}}</ref> so the Coast Guard decommissioned it, and put it out in 1948, with the intention of auctioning it off.<ref name=plaque /> 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''.<ref>{{cite nycland}}, p.213</ref>  This led the Coast Guard to sign its deed to the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]] on July 23, 1951.<ref name=plaque />

The lighthouse was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as "Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse" in 1979,<ref name="History1">[http://www.washington-heights.us/history/archives/little_red_lighthouse_46.html "Little Red Lighthouse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230182234/http://www.washington-heights.us/history/archives/little_red_lighthouse_46.html |date=2010-12-30 }}, Washington Heights & Inwood Online, NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation, August 2001, accessed February 27, 2012</ref> and was designated a [[New York City Landmark]] in 1991.<ref name=plaque />  In 2002, it was relit by the city.<ref name=rowlett/>

==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 [[182nd Street (Manhattan)|West 182nd Street]] and [[Riverside Drive (Manhattan)|Riverside Drive]], and to the south by footbridges at [[158th Street (Manhattan)|West 158th Street]] or 151st Street.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Kevin |title=HERMAN "DENNY" FARRELL BRIDGE, Washington Heights |url=https://forgotten-ny.com/2018/01/herman-denny-farrell-bridge-washington-heights/ |website=Forgotten New York |date=16 January 2018 |access-date=6 April 2022}}</ref>

Tours of the lighthouse are given infrequently. They are arranged by the Parks Department's [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation#Urban Park Rangers|Urban Park Rangers]], especially on the Little Red Lighthouse Festival day in late September and [[Open House New York]] day in October. The October Little Red Lighthouse Festivals in 2018 and 2019 were run by the organization Summer on the Hudson<ref>{{cite web |title=Summer on the Hudson |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/events/summer_on_the_hudson |website=www.nycgovparks.org |publisher=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |access-date=6 April 2022}}</ref> in conjunction with the Riverside Park Conservancy<ref>{{cite web |title=The Riverside Park Conservancy |url=https://riversideparknyc.org/ |publisher=The Riverside Park Conservancy |access-date=6 April 2022}}</ref> 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]], but it resumed in 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=Summer on the Hudson: Little Red Lighthouse Festival|website=www.nycgovparks.org|publisher=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation|url=https://riversideparknyc.org/|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516000037/https://riversideparknyc.org/|archive-date=16 May 2023|access-date=16 May 2023}}</ref>

== In other media ==
The lighthouse is an important setting in the final scenes for the 1948 film ''[[Force of Evil]]'', and [[Jane Campion]]'s neo-noir film [[In the Cut (film)|''In the Cut'']] features the lighthouse as motif and as a filming location.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2861aS_vJUC&pg=PA124 |pages=124–25 |title=The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel |first=Michael Aaron |last=Rockland |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780813545547}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of New York City Landmarks]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in New York County, New York]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Little Red Lighthouse}}
* [http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fortwashingtonpark/facilities/historichouses Official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120926191146/http://www.historichousetrust.org/item.php?i_id=24 Historic House Trust]

{{Lighthouses of the Hudson River|state=collapsed}}
{{Lighthouses of New York}}
{{New York City Historic Sites|state=collapsed}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lighthouses completed in 1921]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City]]
[[Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Washington Heights, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Relocated buildings and structures in New York City]]