View source for Fire Island Lighthouse

{{Short description|Lighthouse in New York, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
 | image_name      = Fire Island Light Station 1.jpg
 | caption         = Fire Island Lighthouse in December 2003
 | location        = Fire Island inlet, Long Island
 | coordinates     = {{coord|40|37|56.8|N|73|13|6.9|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
 | yearbuilt       = 1826
 | yearlit         = 1858
 | automated       = 1986
 | yeardeactivated = Active, inactive 1974–1986
 | foundation      = Connecticut River Blue Stone and timber
 | construction    = Brick encased in cement
 | shape           = Conical tower
 | marking         = Four black and white bands
 | height          = {{convert|168|ft}} <!-- 180' focal plane --><ref name="NPS">{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/park/fireisl.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070703170420/http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/park/fireisl.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = July 3, 2007 | title = Inventory of Historic Lighthouses | access-date = August 14, 2007 | publisher          = [[National Park Service]] }}</ref>
 | lens            = First order Fresnel 1856 (original), Carlisle & Finch Company  (current)
 | range           = {{convert|24|nmi}}
 | characteristic  = [[Flashing Light|Flashing]] White 7.5 seconds counterclockwise.
 |module={{Infobox NRHP
| embed        = yes
| name         = Fire Island Light Station; Fire Island Light Station Historic District
| nrhp_type    = hd
| nocat        = yes
| image        = Fireisland.jpg
| nearest_city = [[Kismet, New York]]
| built        = 1858
| architect    = Morton, J.T.
| added        = September 11, 1981; January 29, 2010 (boundary increase)
| area         = {{convert|0.3|acre}}
| refnum       = 81000082<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> 09001288<ref name="nris2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2010-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf|title=WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 1/25/10 THROUGH 1/29/10|date=February 5, 2010|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>
}}
}}
The '''Fire Island Lighthouse''' is a visible landmark on the [[Great South Bay]], in southern [[Suffolk County, New York]], on the western end of [[Fire Island]], a [[barrier island]] off the southern coast of [[Long Island]].<ref name='ARLHS'>[http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA286.html ARLHS World List of Lights]</ref><ref>{{Cite Rowlett|}}</ref> The lighthouse is located within [[Fire Island National Seashore]] and just to the east of [[Robert Moses State Park]]. It is part of the '''Fire Island Light Station''' which contains the light, keepers quarters, the lens building containing the original first-order [[Fresnel lens]], and a boat house.

==History==
The current [[lighthouse]] is a {{convert|168|ft|adj=on}} [[stone]] tower that began operation in 1858 to replace the {{convert|74|ft|adj=on}} tower originally built in 1826. The United States Coast Guard decommissioned the light in 1974. In 1982 the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society (FILPS) was formed to preserve the lighthouse. FILPS raised over $1.2&nbsp;million to restore the tower and light. On May 25, 1986, the [[United States Coast Guard]] returned the Fire Island Lighthouse to an active aid to navigation. On February 22, 2006, the light became a private aid to navigation. It continues to be on the nautical charts, but is operated and maintained by the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society and not the USCG.  It was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1981 and a boundary increase for the national [[Historic district (United States)|historic district]] occurred in 2010.<ref name="nris"/><ref name="nris2"/><ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8619|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Fire Island Light Station|date=April 1981|access-date=February 20, 2010|author=Steven Kesselman|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|archive-date=October 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192621/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8619|url-status=dead}} ''See also:'' {{cite web |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8628 |title=Accompanying three photos |access-date=March 14, 2010 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192634/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=8628 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="nrhpinv_ny2">{{cite web |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=103074 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Fire Island Light Station Historic District (boundary increase) |date=January 2009 |access-date=February 20, 2010 |author=Stephen Olausen and Laura Kline |publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]] |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192649/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=103074 |url-status=dead }} ''See also:'' {{cite web |url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=103070 |title=Accompanying 18 photos |access-date=March 14, 2010 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010192714/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=103070 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It is listed as '''Fire Island Light''', number 695, in the USCG light lists.<ref>{{cite uscgll|0|}}</ref>

When the lighthouse was built it was on the edge of [[Fire Island Inlet]] and marked the western end of Fire Island.  However Fire Island has extended itself through accumulating sand so that the lighthouse is now nearly {{convert|5|mi|spell=in}} from the western end of the island at Democrat Point.<ref name=USGS_hist>{{cite web |url=https://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/parks/loc74.htm |title=Robert Moses State Park/Fire Island National Seashore |website=Geology of National Parks |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=November 22, 2015}}</ref>

The Archives Center at the [[Smithsonian National Museum of American History]] has a collection (#1055) of souvenir [[postcard]]s of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online.  These include postcards of Fire Island Light<ref name="postcard">[http://amhistory.si.edu/lighthouses/object.cfm?id=63 Smithsonian lighthouse postcards]</ref> with links to customized nautical charts provided by [[National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration]].

The lighthouse celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008, the same year as the 100th anniversary of Robert Moses State Park.

The lighthouse was damaged in a storm by a heavy wind event in March 2023. While no structural damage occurred a "exterior facade panel separated from the building" leading to the suspension of tower tours and the launch of restoration efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2023 |title=Fire Island Lighthouse Restorations Underway » Fire Island News & Great South Bay News |url=https://www.fireislandnews.com/features/gnn6a6y7piwuk2eg54u9w8mm8mjsa8/ |access-date=September 14, 2025 |website=fireislandnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The tower was reopened for tours by August 30, 2023, after the stabilization of the outer façade was completed by the installation of a steel cable mesh system.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 30, 2023 |title=Fire Island National Seashore Reopens Lighthouse for Tower Tours » Fire Island News & Great South Bay News |url=https://www.fireislandnews.com/features/3yyo9qz5h3d12kvt941gasnaouexp5/ |access-date=September 14, 2025 |website=fireislandnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Further restoration efforts have been delayed because of Trump administration cuts to the National Park Service.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 31, 2025 |title=National Park Service Cuts Push Fire Island National Seashore Into Uncharted Waters » Fire Island News & Great South Bay News |url=https://www.fireislandnews.com/features/national-park-service-cuts-fire-island-national-seashore/ |access-date=September 14, 2025 |website=fireislandnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Gallery
| title        =
| height       = 170
| width        = 160
| align        = center
| footer       =
|File:Fire Island Light, the original Fresnel lens.jpg
 |The original first order [[Fresnel lens]].
|File:Fire island lighthouse.jpg
 |Fire Island Lighthouse.
}}

==Access==
The lighthouse can be accessed by a short walk from [[Robert Moses State Park]] Field 5. It is open to the public daily. Tower tours are available for a small fee.

==In popular culture==
From 1970 to 1975, the lighthouse and its surrounding area were seen in the opening and closing credits sequences of the CBS television soap opera ''[[The Guiding Light]]''.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211206/1KZ2G4KJFUM Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200903033631/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KZ2G4KJFUM Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KZ2G4KJFUM| title = Guiding Light 1973 open | via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211206/WYrWeRDrktc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200901063458/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYrWeRDrktc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYrWeRDrktc| title = The Guiding Light 1974 Open and Closing theme online video cutter com) | via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Some of the final episode of season 1 of TV show ''[[The Following]]'' was filmed at Fire Island Lighthouse and surrounding buildings.<ref name="filming1">{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2675848/locations | title = IMDB The Following Filming Locations |access-date = January 20, 2017 | publisher = IMDb}}</ref>

''[[Men in Black II]]'' also included some filming on the island in the immediate vicinity of the lighthouse.<ref name="filming2">{{cite web | url = http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/m/mib2.html | title = Men In Black II film locations | access-date = January 20, 2017 | publisher = movie-locations.com | archive-date = May 28, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110528144949/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/m/mib2.html#.WIJiFrGcauM | url-status = dead }}</ref>

A 1999 [[Channel 4]] TV series featuring [[Stephen Fry]] and called ''Fire Island'' included filming of the lighthouse.<ref name="filming3">{{cite web | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283731/ | title = IMDB Fire Island |access-date = January 20, 2017 | publisher = IMDb}}</ref>

The 2008 movie ''[[What Happens in Vegas]]'' with [[Cameron Diaz]] and [[Ashton Kutcher]] featured the lighthouse as Diaz character's favorite place.

== Rumors of paranormal activity ==
According to local legend the lighthouse is haunted. The most prominent legend is that the historic structure is haunted by the ghosts of a lighthouse keeper and his daughter. Legend has it that the lighthouse keeper's daughter got sick and died before her father could get help to arrive from the mainland. The grieving father then responded by taking his own life by hanging himself in the lighthouse's tower. Now the ghosts of father and daughter supposedly haunt the lighthouse to this day. Additionally, many also claim that the ghosts of carious people who died in shipwrecks both before and after the construction of the current lighthouse also haunt the lighthouse, including the ghost of author and women's activist [[Margaret Fuller]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Epstein |first=Skylar |date=October 20, 2024 |title=Fire Island Lighthouse Visited by Paranormal Investigators » Fire Island News & Great South Bay News |url=https://www.fireislandnews.com/features/fire-island-lighthouse-paranormal-investigators/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=fireislandnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=gothiccurios |date=August 28, 2009 |title=The Ghosts of Fire Island Lighthouse |url=https://www.gothichorrorstories.com/gothic-travel/the-ghosts-of-fire-island-lighthouse/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=Witchery Art: A Gothic Cabinet of Curiosities and Mysteries |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=jamesstewart |date=October 26, 2020 |title=A father's anguish at the Fire Island Lighthouse |url=https://projects.newsday.com/lifestyle/haunted-long-island-fire-island-lighthouse/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=Newsday |language=en-US}}</ref> On January 7, 2022, a group of seven paranormal investigators were given permission by the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society to investigate the lighthouse. They produced several pieces of video and photographic evidence of supposed paranormal activity that was later published by Fire Island & Great South Bay News on October 20, 2024.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
* [[List of lighthouses in New York]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Fire Island Light}}
* {{officialwebsite|https://www.fireislandlighthouse.com/}}
* {{URL|https://www.nps.gov/fiis/planyourvisit/fireislandlighthouse.htm|Fire Island National Seashore: Fire Island Lighthouse}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=390|title=Fire Island Lighthouse at lighthousefriends.com}}

{{Fire Island}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{Lighthouses of New York}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1826 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Fire Island, New York]]
[[Category:Lighthouses completed in 1826]]
[[Category:Lighthouses completed in 1858]]
[[Category:Lighthouses in Suffolk County, New York]]
[[Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, New York]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions on Long Island]]