| Location: | Hudson River, between Athens and Hudson | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 42.2519°N -73.8086°W | ||||||||||
| Yearbuilt: | 1874 | ||||||||||
| Yearlit: | 1874 | ||||||||||
| Automated: | 1949 | ||||||||||
| Foundation: | Granite caisson | ||||||||||
| Construction: | Dressed Stone and red brick | ||||||||||
| Shape: | Square, red brick, granite trim | ||||||||||
| Lens: | fifth order Fresnel (1926), 300mm light (current) | ||||||||||
| Characteristic: | Green light Light_characteristic every 2.5 sec | ||||||||||
| Fogsignal: | Fog bell mechanism at 15 sec intervals | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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The Hudson–Athens Lighthouse, sometimes called the Hudson City light, is a lighthouse located in the Hudson River in the state of New York in the United States.[1] The light is located between Hudson and Athens, closer to the Hudson side. Constructed in 1874, it marks a sandy ridge known as Middle Ground Flats and also acts as a general aid to navigation of the river. The station is built on a granite caisson with an unusual shape designed to protect it from ice floes and river debris. The dwelling is constructed in the Second Empire architectural style,[2] with a mansard roof. It is considered to be virtually a twin of the Stepping Stones Light in Long Island Sound, which was constructed just a few years later.
The station's beacon was originally lighted by Henry D. Best, the station's first lightkeeper, on November 14, 1874.[3] It was upgraded to a fifth-order Fresnel lens in 1926, and the station was fully automated on November 10, 1949. In 1967, the Hudson River Valley Commission, led by Nelson A. Rockefeller, suggested that certain lighthouses owned by the United States Coast Guard be turned over to not-for-profit historical groups to ensure their preservation and upkeep. Hudson–Athens was the first station to be tried through such a program, and on February 15, 1984, a 20-year lease was signed between the Coast Guard and the Hudson–Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society (HALPS). In 2000, title to the station was turned over permanently to HALPS. Today, the Preservation Society conducts occasional tours of the station, which is being restored to its condition as it would have been in the 1930s.
The Lighthouse was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) as survey number NY-6286. There are 9 architectural drawings available in the survey.[4]
The Hudson–Athens Lighthouse is shown on the NOAA Chart 12347.[5]
Chronology from USCG web site
The Archives Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History has a collection (#1055) of souvenir postcards of lighthouses and has digitized 272 of these and made them available online. These include postcards of Hudson–Athens Light[7] with links to customized nautical charts provided by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Hudson–Athens Lighthouse is featured in the book Curious Constructions – A Peculiar Portfolio Of Fifty Fascinating Structures by Michael Hearst.[8]
The lighthouse can be briefly seen in the 1959 noir film, Odds Against Tomorrow.[9]