{"nrhp_refnum":"84002809","name":"Fort Niagara Light","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Niagara River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Youngstown","county":"Niagara County","state":"NY","lat":43.261600129000044,"lon":-79.06063427499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Lighthouse on the east bank of the Niagara River about a quarter mile south of Lake Ontario, at Fort Niagara near Youngstown, New York. The present octagonal stone tower was built in 1871-1872.","why_significant":"The document describes it as a coast light that guided ships to the entrance of the Niagara River and played an important role in the development of transportation on Lake Ontario. It replaced an earlier wooden light on the fort's mess-house and still has its original Fresnel lens. State survey notes call it a solidly built, finely detailed lighthouse still in operation.","narrative":"Fort Niagara Light is a stone lighthouse on the east bank of the Niagara River, about a quarter mile south of Lake Ontario. A light was first placed here in 1823 in a wooden tower rising from the mess-house at Fort Niagara. The present octagonal tower of grey limestone was built in 1871-1872, and its light was first shown on 10 June 1872. Builders could not find a site inside the fort walls, so it stands farther from the river mouth than was desirable. In 1900 the tower was raised 11 feet 4 inches with buff-colored brick to improve visibility from the lake. It has a rusticated stone treatment, round-arched windows, an iron circular stairway and a ten-sided lantern holding its original 4th-order Fresnel lens made in Paris. The light still operates. A wood frame keeper's dwelling from 1897 stands to the west and is vacant. The lighthouse is noted for its role in Lake Ontario navigation.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Tower in good condition and still operating as a coast light with its original 4th-order Fresnel lens; the 1897 keeper's dwelling is vacant and was proposed for demolition.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.301276-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/8913/28891391/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84002809.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002809/b82aedb2c8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002809/b82aedb2c8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fortniagara.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fortniagara.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000556","name":"Old Fort Niagara-Colonial Niagara Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/old-fort-niagara-colonial-niagara-historic-district-66000556/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891391","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Niagara_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5471754"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/niagara-county/fort-niagara-light-84002809/"}