Race Rock Light is a lighthouse on Race Rock Reef, southwest of Fishers Island, New York. The reef is a dangerous set of rocks off the coast of Fishers Island on Long Island Sound and was the site of many shipwrecks.
Race Rock Light was built between 1871 and 1878. Designed by Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838–1915), the lighthouse is an excellent example of 19th century engineering and design. The massive masonry foundations on the reef required seven years to complete. Once the foundations were secure, the stone structure, including the keeper's quarters and the tower, were built in only nine months. The lighthouse has a fourth-order Fresnel lens in a tower standing 67 feet (20 m) above the waterline. The Coast Guard automated the light in 1978.
The lighthouse is believed by some to be haunted and was featured on an episode of Ghost Hunters and seen in the show's opening credits.
Read more about Race Rock Light: History
Famous quotes containing the words race, rock and/or light:
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The eccentric propositions of its fate.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
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Smiles awake you when you rise.
Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby:
Rock them, rock them, lullaby.”
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“Our roots are in the dark; the earth is our country. Why did we look up for blessing—instead of around, and down? What hope we have lies there. Not in the sky full of orbiting spy-eyes and weaponry, but in the earth we have looked down upon. Not from above, but from below. Not in the light that blinds, but in the dark that nourishes, where human beings grow human souls.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)