{"nrhp_refnum":"87001481","name":"Long Island Head Light","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Long Island","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.327789546000076,"lon":-70.95591780699993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A white brick lighthouse tower built in 1819 on the highest point at the north end of Long Island in Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts. It marks the entrance to President Roads and Nantasket Roads.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the light retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship and is tied to the development of aids to navigation in Massachusetts. It is an early brick tower with distinctive detail, including triple brick courses over the windows and door and around the exterior. Historically it was the major light marking Boston's Inner Harbor.","narrative":"Long Island Head Light is a white brick lighthouse tower completed in 1819 on the highest ground at the north end of Long Island in Boston Harbor. It marks the approach to President Roads and Nantasket Roads and was long known as the Inner Harbor Light, after standing at two other locations. The cylindrical tower has a small gabled brick entranceway, granite-trimmed windows with brick arches, a stepped brick corbel table, and an iron balcony with Italianate balusters. A ten-sided lens room with unusually tall windows sits on top, holding an automatic plastic lens. The remains of World War I Fort Strong lie nearby. Operations changed over time: the light was extinguished in 1982 and relit with solar power in 1985. The nomination values the tower as an early brick light with unusual detailing and as the principal marker of Boston's Inner Harbor, retaining its original location, setting and workmanship.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate details (iron arches and cast iron balusters) on an otherwise simple early brick tower","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as unmanned and active; the light was extinguished in 1982, then re-established and converted to solar power in October 1985, when the tower was repaired and repainted.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.639526-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/7927/63792783/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001481.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001481/cf07d26ba5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001481/cf07d26ba5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Long_Island_Head_Light_03_Boston_MA_2009.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:Long_Island_Head_Light_03_Boston_MA_2009.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792783","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_Head_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6672695"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/long-island-head-light-87001481/"}