Tuesday Travels: New Brunswick Canada

East Quoddy Light, also known as Head Harbour Lightstation, is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world and one of the oldest lightstations in Canada.  It is functional but no longer has a "keeper".  It is maintained and being lovingly restored by a "Friends" group - you can find out more about them here.  I would like to visit this coastal treasure again at low tide and get a closer look.

Travel Tuesday: Campobello Island

Grab your passport because today we are crossing the FDR Memorial Bridge into New Brunswick, Canada, to view the picturesque Mulholland Point Lighthouse on Campobello Island.  The wooden octagonal shaped forty-four foot lighthouse was put into operation in 1885, around the time that Campobello was becoming a popular summer colony for wealthy Canadians and Americans.  The light was decommissioned in 1963 and now belongs to the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

 octagonal tower standing forty-four feet from its base to the vane on its lantern, was completed in 1884,

Travel Tuesday: Lubec, Maine

Beginning today, I invite you to travel outside of Quincy with me every Tuesday.  Today I am taking you "Downeast" to the candy-striped lighthouse located on the Bay of Fundy.

West Quoddy Light is located on the easternmost point of the U.S. mainland and is on the National Register of Historical Places.  The present 49-foot brick tower was erected in 1857, after a Congressional appropriation of $15,000. West Quoddy Head Light's famous red and white stripes appear to have been added soon after the present tower was built. Red stripes on lighthouses were common in Canada, where it helped them stand out against snow. Only one other lighthouse in the United States -- Assateague Light in Virginia -- has horizontal red and white stripes.   In the early days, West Quoddy Head, like Boston Light, had a fog cannon to warn mariners away from dangerous Sail Rocks nearby. 

Rocky Shore

This is another view of Boston Light from the rocky shore of Lovell's Island.
Happy Monochrome Monday!

Lighting The Way To Boston

The wind seemed to dance upon the water as I captured this view of Boston Light from Lovells Island.         

Happy Monochrome Monday!

Sentry South

Down south along the coast, construction began on Scituate Lighthouse more than 200 years ago. During the War of 1812, Rebecca and Abigail Bates, daughters of lightkeeper Simeon Bates, warded off an attack by British soldiers by loudly playing a fife and a drum, making the British think there was a regiment of Americans in the area. The lighthouse is now lit as a private aid to navigators. A teacher and his family have taken up residency as keepers of the light and house.

Happy Monochrome Monday!

Goodbye 2011

I enjoyed sharing a few more views of Quincy and the surrounding area with you this year. Thank you for visiting QDP. Your comments were very much appreciated. During 2011, I was fortunate to explore some of the Boston Harbor Islands close up. Capturing Boston Light on Little Brewster Island was a highlight for me and a check-off on my "bucket list". I am looking forward to capturing and sharing more of my city with you in 2012. Happy New Year!

Long Island Head Lighthouse

The Long Island Head Lighthouse is a challenge to capture a good photo of. You have to capture it by boat because it is is inaccessible to the public by land. The present lighthouse, owned by the National Park Service, was built in 1901 and converted to solar in 1985. The first lighthouse went into service here on October 9, 1819.

In 1976, during our country's bicentennial celebration, I had the good fortune of photographing the Tall Ships from the top of this lighthouse. The island was opened to Quincy residents and thousands made the trek across Long Island bridge to view the sailing wonders.

Happy Monochrome Monday!

Lighting The Way To Boston

About an hour's boat ride from Quincy is the first light station established on the North American continent, and the last in the United States to be automated. It’s also our country's only light station that still retains an official keeper. Located on Little Brewster Island, Boston Light is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park system. It's on my "must see" list.

Thursday is "This Old House Day"

Today's "old house" is the 1885 keepers house on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor. The friendly "keepers" came out and waved to everyone on our winter harbor cruise. Tours of the lighthouse are offered in the summer only. This is the last lighthouse in the U.S. to be staffed with a "keeper". Boston Light was automated in 1998, but is still staffed by a resident civilian keeper assisted by the U.S. Coastguard.

Boston Light is almost 3 centuries old and has a fascinating history that you can read more about here.

The Ideal American Lighthouse

Boston Light is located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor and is the site of the first lighthouse in North America, which was destroyed by the British as they were leaving Boston in 1776. The tower was rebuilt a few years later and is made up of rubble stone, granite and brick. It gets its electricity from Hull Wind. This is a designated National Historic Landmark and the only lighthouse in the U.S. to still have a keeper.

I added a little Photoshop "magic" to bring out the lines in the lighthouse and the craggy rocks it sits upon. Come back tomorrow to see the light keeper's house.

Sturdy Sentry

Graves Light Station is over a hundred years old and marks some dangerous ledges outside of Boston Harbor. The granite used to create this 88 foot tower is not from Quincy but quarried in nearby Rockport Massachusetts. The ironwork was made in Boston, the woodwork was produced in Portland, Maine and the first Fresnel lens was manufactured in Paris, France. The original lens is now in storage at the Smithsonian Museum; the light is presently solar powered. You can read more about this sturdy sentry by clicking here.
This was one of the highlights of my recent winter cruise of the Boston Harbor Islands.