{"nrhp_refnum":"66000133","name":"Boston Light","other_names":["Boston Light Station"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Little Brewster Island, Boston Harbor","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.328083675115316,"lon":-70.89083280592632,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1964-01-29","areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Communications","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Boston Light is a lighthouse station on one-acre Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The present stone tower dates from about 1783, and the station also has a keeper's dwelling (c. 1884), an oil house, sheds and a fog signal building.","why_significant":"The nomination holds that Boston Light has national recognition as the first formally authorized lighthouse in the United States, authorized in 1715. It is also tied to the development of navigation aids in Massachusetts. The form says it keeps integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Boston Light stands on Little Brewster Island, a one-acre rocky island marking a main shipping entrance to Boston Harbor. The current rubble stone tower dates from about 1783, replacing earlier towers destroyed in the Revolutionary War, and was raised to 98 feet in 1860. Its cast-iron stairway, balcony and doors date from 1844, and the lens room holds a Second Order Fresnel lens. Other contributing buildings include a keeper's dwelling of about 1884, a brick oil house, sheds and a fog signal building of about 1890. The first light here was authorized in 1715 and first lit in 1716 under keeper George Worthylake. It is recognized as the first formally authorized lighthouse in the United States. The nomination cites that distinction, the station's role in the development of navigation aids in Massachusetts, and the integrity of its setting, materials and workmanship. The station remained staffed and active under the Coast Guard when documented.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Listed as manned and active, owned by the U.S. Coast Guard; keepers live in the dwelling on the island and the tower is operated as a working aid to navigation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 01:58:29.616788-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/81/7927/63792781/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/66000133.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000133/9006f5cd12-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000133/9006f5cd12-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"MBTafan2011","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Light_Evening.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">MBTafan2011</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Light_Evening.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792781","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2895493"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/boston-light-66000133/"}