New York is full of landmarks. There are many famous ones such as the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Unisphere, to name but a few of the most well known ones. There are also smaller landmarks that are important to many, such as the Little Red Lighthouse in Upper Manhattan.
Located in Fort Tryon Park, the Little Red Lighthouse was placed in its current location in 1921 by the U.S. Coast Guard. It had initially stood at Sandy Hook in New Jersey. After the construction of the George Washington Bridge, the lighthouse was decommissioned and slated for demolition. In 1942, the book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift, was published about the lighthouse. In the book, the little red lighthouse feels overshadowed by the bridge, but the bridge helps out the lighthouse and reminds it that everyone has an important job. Because of the popularity of the book, children from all over the U.S. wrote letters to the Coast Guard to save the lighthouse. The lighthouse was saved in 1951 after it was given by the federal government to New York City.
The lighthouse is 40 feet tall and makes a great stop while visiting the George Washington Bridge or the Cloisters Museum in Upper Manhattan. Although the children’s book that made the lighthouse famous is not as well known among today’s kids, it is still believed by natives and visitors young and old—and is a popular picnic spot. This is the type of information you will learn on a Sights by Sam tour.