Old Orchard Shoal Light

Lighthouse in Staten Island, New York

Lighthouse

LocationNew York City, United States

Coordinates40°30′44.272″N 74°5′55.369″W / 40.51229778°N 74.09871361°W / 40.51229778; -74.09871361

ConstructedApril 5, 1893 (1893-04-05)

FoundationConcrete/Cast Iron Caisson

Old Orchard Shoal Light
Tower
Lighthouse at Old Orchard Shoal

Location	New York City, United States
Coordinates	40°30′44.272″N 74°5′55.369″W / 40.51229778°N 74.09871361°W / 40.51229778; -74.09871361
Constructed	April 5, 1893 (1893-04-05)
Foundation	Concrete/Cast Iron Caisson
Construction	Cast iron
Automated	1955 (1955)
Height	35 feet (11 m)
Shape	Conical "Spark Plug"
Markings	Lower half brown, upper half white, on black pier
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Fog signal	Air siren and horn

Light
First lit	April 5, 1893 (1893-04-05)
Deactivated	October 29, 2012 (2012-10-29) (destroyed)
Focal height	51 feet (16 m)
Lens	Fourth Order Fresnel lens (original), 9.8 inches (250 mm)
Range	W 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) R 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 6s



Orchard Shoal Light Station, Old
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Nearest city	Staten Island, New York
Area	less than one acre
Architect	US Lighthouse Board
NRHP reference No.	06000864^[1]
Added to NRHP	September 20, 2006

Old Orchard Shoal Light was a sparkplug lighthouse in Lower New York Bay marking a large shoal area. It was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Old Orchard Shoal Light was completed and lit on April 25, 1893.^[5] The Fresnel lens was removed in 1950.

Before moving on to Governors Island and then finally Coney Island Light, Frank Schubert, said to be the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the United States, was stationed at Old Orchard Shoal Light.

Old Orchard Shoal Light is listed on the National Park Service's Maritime Heritage Program as Lighthouse to visit^[6] and as one of New York's Historic Light Stations.^[7]^[8]

On May 29, 2007, the Secretary of the Interior identified Old Orchard Shoal Light Station as surplus under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The property was described as

Gedney Channel/Lower New York Bay, 3.5 miles south of New Dorp Beach. Remote 35 ft. conical, 3-story "spark plug" style light (1893) with keeper's quarters (approx. 1000 SF). Interior lined in brick up to 3rd floor. On 0.72 acre submerged land. Constructed of cast iron on concrete/cast iron caisson. Markings: white upper/black. Protective riprap and breakwater sheltering light's boat basin. Accessible by boat only.^[9]

No group was identified under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act as willing and able to preserve the Old Orchard Shoal Light, and on June 5, 2008, the General Services Administration placed the light up for sale via an auction. The initial bid was $10,000 and the light finally closed on August 27, 2008 at a final bid of $235,000.^[10]

The lighthouse was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012.^[11]^[12]

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
↑ Light List, Volume I, Atlantic Coast, St. Croix River, Maine to Shrewsbury River, New Jersey (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2009. p. 297.
↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: New York". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
↑ "ARLHS World List of Lights". Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
↑ Annual report of the Light-House Board to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1893, Treasury Department, Document No 1647
↑ "Maritime Heritage Program". Archived from the original on April 20, 1997. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
↑ "Maritime Heritage Program". Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
↑ Jennifer Perunko and Daniel Koski-Karell (May 2006). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Orchard Shoal Light Station, Old. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 22, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)
↑ "Maritime Heritage Program". Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
↑ GSA listing (1-PR-08-005) for Old Orchard Shoal
↑ "Old Orchard Shoal Light Is No More", Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee, blog post November 9, 2012. Archived November 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
↑ USCG 'Local Notice to Mariners" week 44/12, LLNR 35395 states "Structure Destroyed" Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Orchard Shoal light.

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National Register of Historic Places in Staten Island

Historic districts

Miller Army Air Field Historic District
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Grotto
Richmond Town Historic District
Sandy Ground Historic Archeological District
Seaview Hospital
Ward's Point Conservation Area

Historic properties

Houses	364 and 390 Van Duzer Street 5910 Amboy Road Alice Austen House Billiou–Stillwell–Perine House Boardman–Mitchell House Casa Belvedere Conference House Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliott House Gardiner-Tyler House Garibaldi-Meucci Museum Hamilton Park Community Houses Peter Houseman House Kreischer House Kreuzer-Pelton House LaTourette House McFarlane–Bredt House Moore-McMillen House Neville House Olmsted–Beil House One Pendleton Place Poillon-Seguine-Britton House Scott-Edwards House Seguine Mansion Voorlezer's House Caleb T. Ward Mansion
Religious buildings	Brighton Heights Reformed Church Calvary Presbyterian Church Christ Church New Brighton Temple Emanu-El Our Lady of Mount Carmel Grotto Reformed Church on Staten Island St. Alban's Episcopal Church St. Andrew's Church St. Paul's Memorial Church Woodrow Methodist Church
Lighthouses	New Dorp Light Old Orchard Shoal Light Staten Island Light West Bank Light
Military facilities	Battery Weed Fort Tompkins Fort Wadsworth Miller Field St. George Coast Guard Station
Other structures	Edgewater Village Hall and Tappen Park New Brighton Village Hall Sailors' Snug Harbor Sandy Ground Historic Archeological District Seaview Hospital Standard Oil Company No. 16 Vanderbilt Family Cemetery and Mausoleum Ward's Point

National Historic Landmarks

Alice Austen House
Conference House
Voorlezer's House
Wards Point Archeological Site

Authority control databases: Geographic	ARLHS MarineTraffic USCG: 1-35395

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