New York, Photography

The Fire Island Lighthouse

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One would think being I have lived on Long Island for my entire life I might have been to the top of the Fire Island Lighthouse. Well I have not, but today I’m going to achieve that goal. I have been to the top of the Montauk Point Lighthouse and that one is a little claustrophobic for a portly gent like myself.

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I am happy to say the spiral staircase is in great condition and there are ample handrails.  This window is on the third landing and faces North toward the Great South Bay. That should be the town of Islip in the distance.

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The thickness of the walls at the first floor landing were designed to be well over six feet thick.  As you get higher the walls decrease in thickness and the tower gets narrower.

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This window is facing south towards the Atlantic Ocean I guess you can call this the money view.  It’s also the side of the building that gets hit really hard during the coastal storm and hurricane season.

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This is the view from the top of the lighthouse facing West toward Robert Moses State Park and parking fields four and five.  In the distance you can see the “Needle” water tower and the massive antenna to the right at the United States Coast Guard Station at Fire Island.  The Atlantic Ocean is to the left and the Great South Bay to the right.

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This is the view to the East and the communities seen in the distance are Kismit and Saltaire. Ocean Beach and Ocean Bay Park are a little bit further east.  Beyond the lighthouse no vehicle traffic is allowed except for emergency vehicles.  The Atlantic Ocean is to the right and the Great South Bay to the left.

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For a compete history of this historic landmark please go to this link – http://www.fireislandlighthouse.com/html/lighthouse_history.html

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35 thoughts on “The Fire Island Lighthouse”

  1. Wow Joe, your photographs are wonderful! I especially love the first shot, it’s breathtaking.

    When my husband and I went to the Fire Island Lighthouse last July we didn’t climb to the top of the lighthouse, although I wish we had. We are moving back to California this month but I think we will head back tomorrow and finally climb to the top!

    Thanks for sharing your post with me and for following my blog. I look forward to keeping up with yours once I’m back on the west coast, it will help me feel like I’m not so far away from a place that grew on me in such a short time.

    ❤ and harp strings,
    Kate

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    • Congratulations on your retirement John and welcome to the club 🙂 This was the first time I was up in this lighthouse. The Montauk Point lighthouse was a really nice view but it was kind of tight getting up there. I don’t know if you have used the search feature on my site but you might like the Eastern State Penitentiary series I posted a while back. It’s 5 parts and the search feature is all the way at the bottom of the blog. Click the + sign and a footer will open, type Eastern State Penitentiary.

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    • Thank you Mike 🙂 I wasn’t in your old stomping grounds, just the lighthouse, Homey, LOL. Hey how about doing a guest post on the B&W blog ?

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  14. I love the first shot Joe – everything is dwarfed by the tower and the focus is so sharp and clear. Did you use a tripod? I love that crazy boardwalk too – it is so well built and clean…… I studied the entire area last time you posted about this place – you sent me through a link do you remember? I just love places by the water. I used to live in a village called Ocean View not far from where I am now in a cottage with a fabulous view of the south Pacific Ocean [of course]. There’s no lighthouse, just miles of white sand and waves that the surfers love. I miss it!

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    • Thank you very much Pauline 🙂 I did not use a tripod and to tell you the truth by the time I got to the top I was sorry I brought my Nikon instead of the smaller Fuji X-E2 (when you are climbing and in tight quarters the weight really makes a difference). The boardwalk was rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy because the old one (in that black and white photo you liked) was washed away with the storm surge. That cottage you lived in must have been great with that spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean (sounds like someplace I would love). I guess the reason Long Island has so many lighthouses is because of all the tankers and container ships coming into the New York / New Jersey harbors. They don’t want to run aground on this little sand bar we call Long Island 🙂

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