LighthouseA 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.
Caisson (engineering)In geotechnical engineering, a caisson (; borrowed from French'box', from Italian'large box', an augmentative of ) is a watertightretaining structure. It is used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. Caissons are constructed in such a way that the water can be pumped out, keeping the work environment dry.
ConcreteConcrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most widely used building material, and the most-manufactured material in the world. Cement-bound concrete differs from the less rigid, less durable asphaltic concrete, which has a bituminous binder.
Screw-pile lighthouseA screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse to begin construction was built by the blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell. Construction began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841. However, though its construction began later, the Wyre Light in Fleetwood, Lancashire, was the first to be lit (in 1840).
Cast ironCast iron is a class of iron–carbonalloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature.
Sharps Island LightThe Sharps Island Light is the third lighthouse to stand nearly 3 miles (5 km) south-southwest from the southern end of Tilghman Island in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. The structure is best known today for evoking the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a condition caused by an ice floe in 1977. The first lighthouse was built on Sharps Island in 1838, but due to the island's erosion it was moved in 1848.
Old Orchard Shoal LightOld Orchard Shoal Light was a sparkplug lighthouse in Lower New York Bay marking a large shoal area. It was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. HistoryOld Orchard Shoal Light was completed and lit on April 25, 1893. The Fresnel lens was removed in 1950. Before moving on to Governors Island and then finally Coney Island Light, Frank Schubert, said to be the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the United States, was stationed at Old Orchard Shoal Light.
Tarrytown LightTarrytown Light, also known as Kingsland Point Light and Sleepy Hollow Light, is a sparkplug lighthouse on the east side of the Hudson River in Sleepy Hollow, New York, United States. It a conical steel structure erected in the 1880s. In 1979 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The need for a lighthouse to warn ships away from the shoals near the common route off Tarrytown and Ossining had been obvious by the mid-19th century.
Conimicut LightConimicut Light, built in 1883, is a historic sparkplug lighthouse in Warwick, Rhode Island. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The lighthouse is said to be in "relatively good condition." The lighthouse was built in 1883 using pneumatic caisson engineering. The light replaced an earlier 1868 light. Conimicut Lighthouse was automated in the 1960s and was one of the last acetylene gas powered lights to switch to electricity.
Greens Ledge LightGreens Ledge Lighthouse (also known as Greens Ledge Light, or Rowayton Lighthouse) is a historic offshore lighthouse in the western Long Island Sound near Norwalk, Connecticut and Darien, Connecticut. It is one of 33 sparkplug lighthouses still in existence in the United States and remains an active aid to navigation.
Plum Beach LightPlum Beach Light (Lighthouse), built in 1899, is a sparkplug lighthouse in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The lighthouse was built using pneumatic caisson engineering. A granite base was added in 1922. The light was deactivated in 1941 when the first Jamestown Bridge was built. The light became dilapidated until 1999 when the Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse received ownership of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Butler Flats LightButler Flats Light is a sparkplug lighthouse located in the outer harbor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, at the mouth of the Acushnet River. Built in 1898 by the United States Lighthouse Board, it is the only known caisson lighthouse designed by a marine architect. The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Butler Flats Light Station on June 15, 1987. Automated in 1978, it is now operated by the city as a private aid to navigation.
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