Boston Light Advdnture Tour...

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This three-hour adventure began with a forty-five minute narrated tour on a comfortable vessel through the Boston Harbor Islands, where I had the chance to experience the rich maritime history of the islands with a park ranger as a guide.  

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Graves Light

My adventure started with a boat ride to Little Brewster Island, leaving from Boston and voyaging through the Harbor Islands national park area.  A narrated tour given by a Nation Park Service Ranger along the way chronicled the maritime traditions of Boston Harbor and island life, past and present.  Views of the park’s three lighthouses: Graves Light, Long Island Head Light, and Boston Light were all pointed out to us. 

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During this unforgettable adventure tour of Boston Light I found myself stepping directly off the boat into the past. 
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Historic Little Brewster Island is located in the outer reaches of Boston Harbor providing unique views of the city and the surrounding waterways.  

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Established in 1716, the Boston Light is the first and oldest lighthouse station in the United States.

 

 

During the American Revolution, Boston Light was damaged by attacks of patriot militia, and later destroyed by British troops as they left Boston Harbor. 

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The current tower was built in 1783 and is the last light station in the country to be staffed by a US Coast Guard light keeper.

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~*~   SALLY   ~*~

Boston Light Keeper.

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Boston Light Keeper - Sally
rushes down the dock to
greet us.

Sally gives us some 'safety tips'
to know while on the island,
and explains a bit of lighthouse
history.

Our tour of Little Brewster Island included meeting the extremely informative US Coast Guard light keeper, Sally, who explained life on the island in detail. 

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We viewed the light station structures on the island: The Keepers house,

Light Keeper's home on Little Brewster Island built in 1884
and is described as having 'stick style Victorian' architecture.
Renovation began in 1994 - completed in 1996.
Little Brewster Island was included in the
National Registry of Historic Places in 1986, requiring close
adherence to historic renovation guidelines.

the cistern and oil house and a small museum located at the base of Boston Light.

 

This is a photo of the showcase
displaying various aids to
navigation artifacts. 
In the center
is a 5th
Order Fresnel Lens.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I had the chance of a lifetime...

...to climb the 76 steps (and two ladders)

 

 

up to the top of the tower!

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My friend Jane, getting ready to make
the climb.

 

 

It's a long way up ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 'resting' point on the way up, with an interesting
view of what's going on down below.

.... there is still more to climb...

 

for a close up look at Boston Light’s Fresnel lens.

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Once having reached the 76th step of the spiral staircase,
a vertical ladder provides access to a small windowless room where the gear mechanism that rotates the Fresnel lens is housed.

 

On the first landing our National Park Ranger explains the gear mechanism that keeps the mighty lens turning.

brass wheels that the lens turns on.

A look up from the gear works
to the lens above.

 The Fresnel lens is rotated to provide a flash every 10 seconds by a mechanism that involves the rolling of eight 'chariot' or truck wheels that are six inches in diameter rotating the 4,000 pound Fresnel lens.  Before electrification in 1948, a clock-works mechanism was wound every four hours by the Keeper.

 

Finally we make it to the top!

The second vertical ladder is climbed to access the lens room housing the 4,000 Fresnel Lens comprised of 336 individual prisms. The room provides a panoramic view of the Boston skyline and Massachusetts Bay.
YOU MADE IT JANE !

 

 





 

Augustin Fresnel was a French engineer who developed the technology of the dioptric prisms for refracting light from a light source such as oil lamps, using hundreds of prisms to magnify the light source, providing a superior beam of light .The bulls-eyes of the Fresnel Lens create 12 individual beams.     

The Fresnel Lens apparatus consists of polyzonal lens enclosing the lamp, which is placed at the central focus.  The lens is built up on glass prisms in panels, the central portions of which are dioptric, or refracting only, and the upper and lower portions are both reflecting and refracting, which is called catadioptric. There is no way to replicate these glass prisms. The specifications for making them were lost during the invasion of France in World War II

But you knew all that !

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The Coast Guard and the National Park Service are committed to keeping Boston Light's second order Fresnel lens with  its chariot wheels and gear system operable for visitors to observe. It is one of the few existing "working" classic lenses operable in this country. 

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Boston Light was built in 1783, after the original structure was destroyed during the Revolutionary War by the British.  The tower is constructed of rubble stone and is 89 feet tall with a focal point of 102 feet above sea level.  The beam of white light flashes ever 10 seconds and can be seen for 27 miles on a clear night.

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After enjoying the spectacular views atop the tower,

 

 it was now time to start the climb down.

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After a short rest, we said goodbye to Sally and headed back into Boston.

 

 

 

 

 

WAIT, our day isn't over yet !

Back on the mainland ...
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a (late) LUNCH is in order

***  Delicious !  ***

Now it's time to head home.

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 I had a great time 'adventure touring' with my friend Jane. So nice to see Boston,

my home town through her eyes !