Deer Island Light

Deer Island Light is a lighthouse in Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts. The United States Coast Guard Light List description is "Red cylindrical tower; black cylindrical pier". The actual light is 53 feet (16 m) above Mean High Water. Its alternating white and red light is visible for 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi).

The light is at the end of a reef that extends about 1,500 feet (460 m) south from the island. The location first had a stone beacon in 1832. The first light, a sparkplug type light, was lit in 1890. It cost about $50,000. It included a three story dwelling, a veranda with boat davits, and a circular parapet. The water supply was a cistern in the base of the structure. A spiral staircase ran from the cellar to the top floor. It had a fixed white light, which was changed to flashing red every thirty seconds and then to the present alternating red and white flashes. The old light gradually deteriorated and was replaced in 1982 by a white fiberglass tower. The white tower raised complaints because it blended in with the background and was hard to see, so the Coast Guard moved it to Great Point Light, Nantucket, as a temporary replacement when that tower was destroyed by a storm in March 1984. The present tower was installed immediately thereafter. While the Spark plug light was interesting, it was much more expensive to maintain than the fiberglass structure now in place. Imported from England, the pole light was the first of its kind in the United States.

Gallery

Deer Island Light in 2009, with Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant digesters in the background.