Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse
Also known as: The Little Red Lighthouse
Why it's listed
Perched on a rocky point of the Hudson River shore beneath the George Washington Bridge, this small lighthouse in Fort Washington Park was completed in 1920. Its tower is a fourteen-foot-six-inch-wide cone of curved, welded steel panels set on a poured concrete base, rising forty feet and sixty-one feet above the water. Cast-iron hoods in the Renaissance style cap the windows, which are filled with porthole plates. A fog bell worked from inside the tower, though the bell and its machinery are gone. Mariners had been concerned about this stretch of river since 1889, when two lighted stakes were placed there. Congress funded a proper light in 1920, making it the last Hudson River lighthouse built by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. Once the bridge carried the warning lights, the lighthouse lost its purpose. Public interest, sparked by a children's story, led the Coast Guard to offer it to New York City's parks department in 1951.
Significance in brief: It marked a part of the Hudson long worrying to mariners and was the last Hudson River lighthouse built by the U.S. Lighthouse Service, using the styling of earlier Service towers. It is part of a thematic group on Hudson River lighthouses touching maritime history, architecture and transportation. Public affection for a children's story about it helped save it from sale in the early 1950s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79003130, listed May 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Fort Washington Park, New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | May 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003130 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architectural style | Conical steel plate tower with Renaissance-style cast-iron window hoods, following earlier U.S. Lighthouse Service designs |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | No longer in use as a lighthouse; the doors have been welded closed. Condition is deteriorated: the lantern room is exposed, most glass panels are missing, and the bell, bell mechanisms and lens have been removed. |
| Coordinates | 40.85022, -73.94732 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79003130.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q3739789
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.