Twin Lights of Navesink
National Register Of Historic Places · Highlands, New Jersey
A brownstone fortress on the Navesink Highlands above Sandy Hook, two hundred feet over the Atlantic, with a square tower at one end and an octagonal one at the other joined by a castle-like range — built in 1862 and THE HIGHEST COASTAL LIGHT STATION ON THE UNITED STATES ATLANTIC SEABOARD. It has an extraordinary run of American firsts: THE FIRST FRESNEL LENSES USED IN THE UNITED STATES were installed here in 1841, THE FIRST AMERICAN LIGHTHOUSE LIT BY ELECTRICITY was this one in 1898, and MARCONI SET UP A WIRELESS STATION HERE IN 1899 to report the America's Cup — the first use of wireless telegraphy for news in America.
2 Lighthouse Road, Highlands, New Jersey, 07732, United States
FREE, with free parking and no admission charge — a New Jersey state historic site where donations are invited. The museum and grounds keep daytime hours and CLOSE ON SOME WEEKDAYS OUT OF SEASON, so check before travelling. THE NORTH TOWER CLIMB IS SEASONAL — 64 steps up a narrow spiral stair, closed in winter and in high wind — while the museum below stays open; the South Tower is not open to the public. THE FREE CAR PARK IS SMALL AND FILLS on fine summer weekends and throughout October, and the access road up from Highlands is STEEP, NARROW AND WINDING with no shoulder and no overflow — unsuitable for coaches and large vehicles.
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