Bridgeport Harbor Light
Encyclopedia
Bridgeport Harbor Lighthouse was a lighthouse
in Connecticut
,
United States, on the west side of the Bridgeport Harbor
entrance and the north side of Long Island Sound
, Bridgeport
, Connecticut
in the United States
.
on the top of a box light structure on iron piles. There were no keeper's quarters. In 1871, a replacement lighthouse was built. This was a wooden dwelling with the tower attached to the roof, with a fourth order lens. The United States Coast Guard
replaced the lighthouse with a skeletal tower
in 1953.
While dismantling the 102-year-old lighthouse to make way for an electric beacon, it caught fire and was destroyed.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
,
United States, on the west side of the Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut in the United States. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago...
entrance and the north side of Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
, Bridgeport
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut.Bridgeport may also refer to:-Places:In Canada:* Bridgeport, Nova ScotiaIn the United States:* Bridgeport, Alabama* Bridgeport, California, in Mono County...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The original lighthouse was built in 1851. It was an octagonal tower, with a fixed red light from a sixth order Fresnel lensFresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.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...
on the top of a box light structure on iron piles. There were no keeper's quarters. In 1871, a replacement lighthouse was built. This was a wooden dwelling with the tower attached to the roof, with a fourth order lens. The United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
replaced the lighthouse with a skeletal tower
Skeletal tower
Skeletal Frame Light Towers are lighthouse towers that have only an open frame. They are commonly built as aids to navigation; most of them are not considered to be lighthouses. However, during the late nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth, larger skeletal towers were installed...
in 1953.
While dismantling the 102-year-old lighthouse to make way for an electric beacon, it caught fire and was destroyed.
See also
- Bridgeport HarborBridgeport HarborBridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut in the United States. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago...
- History of Bridgeport, ConnecticutHistory of Bridgeport, ConnecticutThe history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one of shipbuilding, whaling and rapid growth...
- Tongue Point LightTongue Point LightTongue Point Light Lighthouse, also known as Bridgeport Breakwater or Bug Light, is a lighthouse on the west side of the Bridgeport Harbor entrance, in the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.-History:The lighthouse...
marks the western side between the inner and outer harbor areas of Bridgeport Harbor. - Black Rock Harbor LightBlack Rock Harbor LightBlack Rock Harbor Light is a lighthouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States, on the south end of Fayerweather Island, that marks the entrance to Black Rock Harbor.-History:...
marks the entrance to the Black Rock HarborBlack Rock HarborBlack Rock Harbor is located in Bridgeport, Connecticut on the Long Island Sound. The Black Rock Harbor Light on Fayerweather Island marks the entrance to the harbor on its east, while St. Mary's by the Sea forms its western beachhead. Seaside Park runs along the northeastern part of the harbor....
just to the west of Bridgeport Harbor.