{"nrhp_refnum":"87001486","name":"Newburyport Harbor Front Range Light","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Merrimac River Coast Guard Station","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newburyport","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.79847844100004,"lon":-70.80927956999994,"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 35-foot range light tower built in 1873 in Newburyport, Essex County, Massachusetts, now sitting on the grounds of the Merrimac River Coast Guard Station after being moved from Bayley's Wharf in 1964.","why_significant":"The front light and its rear companion are one of only three sets of range lights in Massachusetts and are described as the best example of a range light in the state. The form cites integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship, and associations with the development of aids to navigation. It argues significance despite the tower having been moved and altered.","narrative":"Newburyport's Harbor Front Range Light is a 35-foot tower built in 1873 to guide vessels into the harbor. Its lower 15 feet are steel plate lined with brick, and the upper 20 feet form a hexagonal wood frame covered in white shingles. Originally on Bayley's Wharf, it worked with a rear tower a few hundred feet away on Water Street to help mariners avoid the dangerous reef known as Goose Rocks. The Coast Guard moved it in 1964 to its present spot within the Merrimac River Coast Guard Station grounds. The roof was raised before 1957, when the light was changed from a range light to a channel light, though the original roof and lantern room remain intact. Today it is used for storage and still serves as a daymark. It was listed as part of the pair of Newburyport range lights, one of only three sets in Massachusetts, for its role in navigation aids and its design and materials.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Unmanned and inactive as a light; used only for storage at an active Coast Guard station, though it appears well tended and is still used as a daymark by navigators.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.339226-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7902/63790232/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001486.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001486/595aa53ae4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001486/595aa53ae4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newburyport_Harbor_Front_Range_Light,_May_2012,_Newburyport_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Newburyport_Harbor_Front_Range_Light,_May_2012,_Newburyport_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790232","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newburyport_Harbor_Front_Range_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715767"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/newburyport-harbor-front-range-light-87001486/"}