 Greens Ledge Lighthouse in 2022 | |
 | |
| Location | Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°02′31″N 73°26′38″W / 41.042°N 73.444°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1902  |
| Construction | cast iron (tower), concrete (caisson) |
| Automated | 1972 |
| Height | 52 ft (16 m) |
| Shape | 2-stages cylindrical tower with double balcony and lantern incorporating keeper's quarter |
| Markings | white (top), brown (bottom), black (basement) |
| Power source | solar power |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| Fog signal | 2 blasts every 20s. |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Lens | 5th order Fresnel lens (original), 4th order Fresnel lens (1902), FA-251 (1987), VRB-25 (current) |
| Range | 18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi) (white), 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) (red) |
| Characteristic | Al WR 12s |
Greens Ledge Lighthouse | |
| Nearest city | Rowayton, Connecticut |
| Area | <1 acre |
| Architect | Philadelphia Construction Co. |
| MPS | Operating Lighthouses in Connecticut MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001468[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 29, 1990 |
Greens 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. It sits in ten feet of water on the west end of Greens Ledge, a shallow underwater reef that runs a mile west of Sheffield Island and is roughly a mile south of the entrance to Five Mile River at Rowayton. Completed in 1902 by the Philadelphia Construction Company, the cast-iron structure is approximately 90 feet tall including roughly 15 feet of the submerged caisson.[2][3][4] In 1933, more than 30,000 tons of rocks from the excavation of Radio City Music Hall were added to the riprap foundation. The light was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Greens Ledge Lighthouse on May 29, 1990.
In 2017, Greens Ledge was acquired from the US Government by the Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established by a group of local residents with the mission of restoring and preserving the lighthouse. The acquisition was made through a founding donation by The Pettee Family and restoration began in June 2018 to address the critical structural deficiencies of the lighthouse.[5]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Connecticut". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 191.
- ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Connecticut". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-08-08. Archived from the original on 2017-05-19.
- ^ "Greens Ledge | Connecticut | Greens Ledge Light Preservation Society". Archived from the original on 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2017-12-01.