Portland Headlight - Cape Elizabeth, ME
Posted by: neoc1
N 43° 37.388 W 070° 12.475
19T E 402544 N 4830724
Portland Head Light is the first lighthouse built by the United States government, in 1787.
Waymark Code: WMC4NH
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 07/25/2011
Views: 41
Portland Head Light is the oldest and arguably the most famous and photographed lighthouse in America built by the government. It was constructed at the direction of President George Washington and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton from a design by Jonathan Bryant and John Nichols in 1787.
This historic lighthouse is located in Cape Elizabeth at the entrance to Casco Bay and is now a part of Fort Williams Park. The light has been upgraded over the years. In 1855, a fourth-order Fresnel lens was installed only to be replaced by a second-order Fresnel lens. That in turn was replaced by an aero beacon in 1958 until a DCB-224 aero beacon was installed in 1991.
Portland Head Light is 80 feet above ground and 101 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. The DCB 224 beacon, rated at 200,000 candlepower, is visible from 24 miles out to sea. The grounds, and keeper's house are owned by the town of Cape Elizabeth, while the beacon, and fog signal are owned and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 1973 (reference #73000121)
Museum and Gift Shop are open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m
Street address: 1000 Shore Rd. Cape Elizabeth, ME United States 04107
County / Borough / Parish: Cumberland
Year listed: 1973
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1750-1799
Historic function: Defense, Domestic, Government, Transportation
Current function: Defense, Domestic, Government, Transportation
Privately owned?: no
Hours of operation: From: 10:00 AM To: 4:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.