Long Point Light
Long Point Light in 2010
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| Location | Long Point, Provincetown, Massachusetts |
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| Coordinates | 42°1′59.23″N 70°10′7.15″W / 42.0331194°N 70.1686528°WCoordinates: 42°1′59.23″N 70°10′7.15″W / 42.0331194°N 70.1686528°W |
| Year first constructed | 1827 |
| Year first lit | 1875 (re-built light) |
| Automated | 1952 |
| Foundation | Natural, emplaced |
| Construction | Brick |
| Tower shape | Square tower |
| Markings / pattern | White with black lantern |
| Height | 38 feet (12 m) |
| Focal height | 35.5 feet (10.8 m) above mean sea level |
| Original lens | Oil Lamp (1826); Sixth-order fresnel (1856); Fifth-order fresnel (1875) |
| Current lens | Solar-powered 300 mm lantern (1982) |
| Range | 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) |
| Characteristic | Oc G 4s (Green, occulting every 4 seconds) |
| Fog signal | HORN: one 2-sec blast every 15 secs Prior (1875): 1,200 lb (540 kg) fog bell |
| Admiralty number | J0382 |
| ARLHS number | USA-450 |
| USCG number |
1-13275 |
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Long Point Light Station
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1909 postcard Long Point Light
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| Built | 1875 (re-built light & keeper's house) |
| Architect | Unknown |
| MPS | Lighthouses of Massachusetts TR |
| NRHP Reference # | 87002039 |
| Added to NRHP | September 28, 1987 |
1-13275
Long Point Light Station is an historic lighthouse at the northeast tip of Long Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a navigational aid, it marks the southwest edge of the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. The United States Coast Guard Light List describes it simply as a "white square tower". The light it casts is green, occulting every 4 seconds, and, at a focal height of 35.5 feet (10.8 m) above mean sea level, has a visible range of 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi). When the weather affords low-visibility, one can hear the station's fog horn – sounding a single blast for two seconds, and repeating every 15 seconds – as it seems to call out for (and answer calls from) its nearly-identical closest neighbor, the Wood End Light.
By an act of Congress on May 18, 1826, the United States Government earmarked $2,500 to acquire 4 acres (0.016 km2) at the extreme tip of Long Point, and to establish a lighthouse to guide mariners into the busy fishing port of Provincetown Harbor. In comparing the relative share of the gross domestic product (GDP), or "nominal GDP", that's the equivalent of today's Congress allocating $48 million in 2013 dollars.
Completed in 1827, the original Long Point Light was not a tower structure, but rather consisted of an octagonal lantern centered on the peak of the roof of the wooden keeper's house. Access to the lantern was by a spiral stair from the top floor of the house. That architectural style, common to several of Cape Cod's early 19th century lighthouses, came to be known as the "Cape Cod style" – today, however, "classic" examples of that style can only be found along the Pacific Coast.
The lantern was lit by a sixth-order Fresnel lens in 1856. By 1873, a lighthouse inspector's report noted substantial erosion, exposed wooden pilings, and poor overall condition of the light station, expressing concern that a strong storm could carry it away. Shortly thereafter, the Lighthouse Board decided to replace the entire structure. The present-day 38-foot (12 m) tall, square brick lighthouse and a one-and-one-half-story keeper's dwelling to its south were completed in 1875. The lighthouse included a larger, fifth-order Fresnel lens, and a 1,200-pound (540 kg) fog bell was installed to the north of the tower. In 1904, the station received an oil house for properly storing flammable materials used for illumination. In 1927, the intensity of the light was reduced to 29,000 candlepower.
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Wikipedia