Hospital Point Range Front Light

Hospital Point Range Front Light is a historic lighthouse at the end of Bayview Avenue in Beverly, Massachusetts. It forms the front half of a range which guides vessels toward Salem Harbor. The tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Hospital Point Light Station on September 28, 1987.

Hospital Point Range Front Light
US Coast Guard photo
LocationBeverly, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°32′47.4″N 70°51′21.4″W
Year first constructed1871
Year first lit1872
Automated1947
FoundationGranite
ConstructionBrick
Tower shapeSquare pyramidal tower with attached house
Markings / patternWhite, black lantern
Tower height13.5 metre 
Focal height70 feet (21 m)
Original lensThird order Fresnel lens
CharacteristicF W
Fog signalnone
USCG number1-10000[1][2]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Hospital Point Light Station
MPSLighthouses of Massachusetts TR
NRHP reference No.87002031[3]
Added to NRHPSeptember 28, 1987

Established in 1871, the beacon marks the deep water channel to Beverly, Salem and Marblehead[4] Two bronze plaques contain historical information about the site. One plaque honors Beverly men who manned a fort at the site during the Revolutionary War, and the second describes the lighthouse and a smallpox hospital that was previously located on the site. The lighthouse was first lit in 1872 and was automated in 1947.[5] The Fresnel lens was replaced in 1976, and an acrylic optic was installed in 1981.[6]

The square pyramidal light tower is 45 feet (14 m) tall, made of white painted brick and is topped with a 10-sided lantern.[7] There are five sash windows in the tower, with the doorway facing the keeper's house. A small brick oil house stands nearby. The keeper's house is an example of Queen Anne style architecture, although its historic detailing are obscured by a major addition to the building in 1968.[6]

Hospital Point Light is owned and operated as a navigation aid by the United States Coast Guard. The light is paired with a second light installed in the steeple of Beverly's First Baptist Church in 1927.[8] Vessels are able to use the two lights to align themselves with the middle of the channel, avoiding the rocky shores.

Tours are offered to the public each August for Beverly Homecoming celebrations and include 40 winding stairs and a ladder to the top of the light.[8]

  • Hospital Point Light, February 2010
  • Hospital Point Light Station, Bayview Ave. Beverly
  • Hospital Point Light Station, Bayview Ave. Beverly

See also

References
  1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 2009-09-02. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
  2. United States Coast Guard (2009). Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey. p. 82.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  4. Wright, John Hardy. Images of American: Beverly. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2000. p. 105
  5. United States Coast Guard. Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts. online.
  6. "MACRIS inventory record for Hospital Point Range Front Light". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  7. National Park Service. Maritime History of Massachusetts. online
  8. Leighton, Paul. (2007, July 28.) Seeing the light: tours offer rare views from Hospital Point. Salem News.
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