{"nrhp_refnum":"84002758","name":"AMBROSE (lightship)","other_names":["U.S. Lightship No. 87","Relief","Scotland","f-LS512"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Pier 16, East River, Manhattan","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.705322326000044,"lon":-74.00245938999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-09-07","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1989-04-11","areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Politics/Government","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Lightship No. 87, later known as \"Ambrose,\" is a steel-hulled lightship built in 1907 by the New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, New Jersey, to U.S. Lighthouse Service plans. It is now a floating museum vessel at South Street Seaport Museum, Pier 16, Manhattan.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of a small number of preserved historic American lightships, with strong integrity despite 1930s engine and lighting changes. It served on the Ambrose station guiding ships into New York, the nation's busiest port, and had a major effect on local, coastal and international trade. It was also the site of the first successful shipboard radiobeacon used to guide ships over long distances in poor weather.","narrative":"Lightship No. 87, later called \"Ambrose,\" is a steel-hulled vessel built in 1907 by the New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, New Jersey, to U.S. Lighthouse Service plans. She is 135 feet 9 inches long and has a riveted hull, two masts for lights, a wooden pilothouse and a steam anchor windlass. Originally coal-fired and steam-powered, she received a Winton diesel engine in the 1930s, and her lights progressed from kerosene to electric. She marked the approach to New York Harbor on the Ambrose station until 1932, then served as a relief vessel and on Scotland station near Sandy Hook. She was decommissioned in 1968 and has not been altered since. Her original bell, wheel, radiator and officers' quarters remain. The nomination values her as one of few preserved American lightships, as a vessel that supported shipping into the nation's busiest port, and as the site of the first successful shipboard radiobeacon. She is now moored at South Street Seaport Museum as an exhibit.","period_of_significance":"1907-1964","architect_builder":"U.S. Lighthouse Service/New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.","architectural_style":"Architecture (Naval); lightship built to U.S. Lighthouse Service standing plans for First Class Light Vessels","criteria":[],"status_note":"Preserved and on exhibit as a museum vessel; in fine condition with a sound but thin hull in places, and unaltered since decommissioning in 1968.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.960671-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/84002758_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002758/04d675c4ca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002758/04d675c4ca-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrose_at_South_Street_Seaport_02_(9427142430).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrose_at_South_Street_Seaport_02_(9427142430).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"72000883","name":"South Street Seaport","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/south-street-seaport-72000883/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315932","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_lightship_Ambrose_(LV-87)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7890707"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/ambrose-lightship-84002758/"}