Statue of Liberty Lighthouse

Year Built

1886

Cost

N/A

Type

Copp[er Statue

Height

309 feet

Location

Liberty Island, New York City

Automated Year

N/A

First Lit

1886

Lens Type

Electric lights

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1902

Color

Green copper

Last Keeper - Date

Albert E. Littlefield (1886 – 1902)

Description

The lighthouse and grounds are open to the public.

Brief History

•  The dedication of the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886 was marked with great fireworks displays and New York’s first ever ‘Ticker Tape’ parade.
•  On November 16, 1886, President Grover Cleveland ordered that the Statue of Liberty “be at once placed under the care and superintendence of the Light-House Board and that it be from henceforth maintained by said Board as a beacon.”
•  The expense of running the lights was reduced in 1898 through the substitution of a ten-horsepower oil engine for the Armington Sims steam engine that powered the electric plant.
•  In late 1901, the War Department asked the Lighthouse Board to release its jurisdiction over the statue, which it gladly did.
•  On March 1, 1902, the Statue of Liberty was discontinued as an aid to navigation, and the services of Albert E. Littlefield, the light’s first and only head keeper, were no longer needed.