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Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights
The Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights were a pair of lighthouses in Boston Harbor. They were removed around 1950 when the channel they helped to mark was superseded by a parallel channel to the north. History The range marked by these lights formed part of a three-leg channel leading from the ocean. Prior to dredging there were two main routes: a southern route past Boston Light and through the narrows south of Lovells Island, and a northern route entering from Broad Sound past Deer Island and across President Roads. The outermost leg of this latter route, the Broad Sound Channel, was divided into the North Channel and South Channel by a rise. In 1897 the innermost leg of these routes was marked with the Spectacle Island Range Lights; the remainder of the northern route was marked in 1903, with the route through the South Channel indicated by the Lovells Island Range Lights The Lovells Island Range Lights were range lights on Lovells Island in Boston Harbor, Massachuset ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectacle Island (Massachusetts)
Spectacle Island is a 114-acre island in Boston Harbor, offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is part of the city of Boston. The island has a varied history, and today is a public park with a marina, visitor center, cafe, lifeguarded swimming beach, and five miles of walking trails, forming part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is served all year by ferries from Boston, and on weekends and summer weekdays by a shuttle boat to and from nearby islands. Topography The island was initially composed of two small drumlins connected by a spit, with an approximate size of . The name is believed to derive from its then-resemblance to a pair of spectacles. However, dumping of trash and dirt, together with subsequent landscaping, have resulted in a significantly larger island with a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further . The island is now composed of two artificial earth mounds, terraced with retaining walls, roads and newly planted v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since its discovery to Europeans by John Smith in 1614, Boston Harbor has been an important port in American history. Early on, it was recognized by Europeans as one of the finest natural harbors in the world due to its depth and natural defense from the Atlantic as a result of the many islands that dot the harbor. It was also favored due to its access to the Charles River, Neponset River and Mystic River which made travel from the harbor deeper into Massachusetts far easier. It was the site of the Boston Tea Party, as well as almost continuous building of wharves, piers, and new filled land into the harbor until the 19th century. By 1660, almost all imports came to the greater Boston area and the New England coast through the waters of Boston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fresnel Lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet. The simpler dioptric (purely refractive) form of the lens was first proposed by Count Buffon and independently reinvented by Fresnel. The ''catadioptric'' form of the lens, entirely invented by Fresnel, has outer elements that use total internal reflection as well as refraction; it can capture more oblique light from a light source and add it to the beam of a lighthouse, making the light visible from greater distances. Description The Fresnel lens redu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and has become uneconomical since the advent of much cheaper, more sophisticated and effective electronic navigational systems. History Ancient lighthouses Before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since elevating the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Light
Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. The current lighthouse dates from 1783, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States (after Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey), and is the only lighthouse to still be actively staffed by the United States Coast Guard, being automated in 1998 though there is still a keeper acting as tour guide. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. History The first keeper of Boston Light was George Worthylake, who drowned, along with his wife and daughter, when returning to the island in 1718. During the American Revolution, the original lighthouse was held by British forces and was attacked and burnt on two occasions by American forces. As the British forces withdrew in 1776, they blew up the tower and complete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lovells Island
Lovells Island, or Lovell's Island, is a island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, in Massachusetts. The island is across The Narrows from Georges Island and some offshore of downtown Boston. It is named after Captain William Lovell, who was an early settler of nearby Dorchester. The island is known as the site of several shipwrecks, including the 74-gun French warship ''Magnifique'' in 1782. In December 1786, a passenger boat carrying 13 people crashed off the shore of Lovells Island. Coming from Damariscotta, Maine, and destined for the Boston Harbor, the boat sank within swimming distance to the Harbor, and all aboard made it to shore.https://archive.org/stream/kingshandbookofb00swee#page/188/mode/2up King's Handbook of the Boston Harbor Islands 1882 Without shelter or warmth and in the midst of a blizzard, 11 of the victims froze to death. One man, Theodore Kingsbury, made it through the night and was taken to the hospital in the morning where he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broad Sound (Massachusetts)
Broad Sound is a bay on the Massachusetts coast north of Boston. It lies on the west of Massachusetts Bay, between Nahant and Deer Island; Lynn harbor is at its north end. The main channel of Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ... empties into the sound. References * Bays of Massachusetts Bays of Essex County, Massachusetts Bodies of water of Suffolk County, Massachusetts {{EssexCountyMA-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deer Island (Massachusetts)
Deer Island is a peninsula in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 1996, it has been part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Although still an island by name, Deer Island has been connected to the mainland since the former Shirley Gut channel, which once separated the island from the town of Winthrop, was filled in by the 1938 New England hurricane. Today, Deer Island is the location of the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, whose egg-like sludge digesters are major harbor landmarks. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further . Two-thirds of the island's area is taken up with the wastewater plant, which treats sewage from 43 nearby cities and towns, and is the second-largest such plant in the United States. The remainder of the island is park land surrounding the treatment plant, and offers walking, jogging, sightseeing, picnicking, and fishing. History 1600s It was once leased to Sir Thomas Temple (1614–1674), a Britis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectacle Island Chart 246 1909
In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French ''spectacle'', itself a reflection of the Latin ''spectaculum'' "a show" from ''spectare'' "to view, watch" frequentative form of ''specere'' "to look at." The word ''spectacle'' has also been a term of art in theater dating from the 17th century in English drama. The masque and spectacle Court masques and masques of the nobility were most popular in the Jacobean and Caroline era. Such masques, as their name implies, relied heavily upon a non-verbal theater. The character lists for masques would be quite small, in keeping with the ability of a small family of patrons to act, but the costumes and theatrical effects would be lavish. Reading the text of masques, such as ''The Masque at Ludlow'' (most often referred to as '' Comus''), the writing is spare, philosophical, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectacle Island Range Lights
The Spectacle Island Range Lights were a pair of range lights Leading lights (also known as range lights in the United States) are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At night ... on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor. They were established in 1897 and discontinued in 1913 after changes in the entrance channels to the harbor made them obsolete. History A range to mark the channel into Boston harbor was requested by the Lighthouse Board in 1892; the appropriation was not passed until 1895. Two identical octagonal towers were constructed, each equipped with a red reflector light. Originally painted white, they were repainted with a red band in the midsection in 1904. At the same time the two towers were relocated south. The year before the relocation, the Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights had been built on the island, immediately adjacent to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lovells Island Range Lights
The Lovells Island Range Lights were range lights on Lovells Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England .... They were built in 1903 to help vessels coming into what is now called "South Channel". As the North Channel was dredged deeper, the South Channel was less used and they were removed in 1939 to make room for the expansion of Fort Standish. The oil shed from the lights remains today. They were apart on a magnetic bearing of 228°, with a seven-foot walkway connecting them. References Lighthouses completed in 1903 Boston Harbor Lighthouses in Boston {{Boston-struct-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Standish (Boston, Massachusetts)
Fort Standish was a coastal fort completed in 1907 and located on Lovell's Island in Massachusetts. Named after Myles Standish, the fort would serve to host up to 7 batteries until it was disarmed and deactivated in 1947. It was also named Lovell's Island Military Reservation during the early part of its existence. It was part of the Coast (later Harbor) Defenses of Boston. Along with Fort Warren, Fort Andrews, Fort Banks, Fort Strong, and others, it was among the first modern defenses of Boston Harbor. The fort was de-activated in 1947 and in 1962 became part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. History Construction and armament Fort Standish was built 1899-1907. The gun batteries over its history through 1947 included:Berhow, p. 205 Batteries Burbeck and Morris were originally combined as Battery Burbeck, but were administratively separated in 1909. The 10-inch guns were the fort's main armament against enemy battleships; the 6-inch guns could fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
