Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

Hudson-Athens Light, Hudson, NY

On a lovely, sunny day, we took a boat trip out to the lighthouse which allowed us to see the inside, including the lantern room.

Located in the Hudson River in the New York State, the lighthouse sits between Hudson and Athens. Named the Hudson City Light, construction started in 1873 and its beacon was lit in 1874.

It sits on a huge granite foundation, the northern end of which is built to resemble the bows of a ship to help avoid damage from the winter ice gloes.

Its purpose was to protect ships from Middle Ground Flats, a large mud flat in the river that is submerged at high tide. By 1926, the lantern had been fitted with a fifth-order Fresnel lens, and it was automated in 1949.

Ownership passed from the United States Coast Guard to the Hudson–Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society in 1984. From July to October, there are occasional boat tours out to the lighthouse from both Hudson and Athens, and you are able to see inside the whole building.

If you are lucky, as we were, you will meet Emily Brunner who lived in the lighthouse as a child. Her father was the lighthouse keeper in the 1930s and 1940s, retiring in 1949 when it was automated.

The style of the building is known as Second Empire.

A couple of shots of the interior of the lighthouse.

Taking the boat back to Hudson.

On a lovely, sunny day, we took a boat trip out to the lighthouse which allowed us to see the inside, including the lantern room.

Back

Next