The historic cast-iron Coney Island Lighthouse that has helped seafarers navigate the New York Harbor for more than 100 years, along with its neighboring Queen Anne-style keeper’s dwelling, could become the city’s newest individual landmark.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on Oct. 2o to calendar the 1890 Coney Island Lighthouse for consideration as an individual landmark. The commission will hold a public hearing on the lighthouse, which is located at 4598 Beach 46th St. in Sea Gate, the private gated community next to Coney Island.
The site proposed for landmarking includes the neighboring keeper’s dwelling that, along with the lighthouse, dates back to 1890. The waterfront property also includes a non-contributing shed.
Tour leader, author, and LPC staff historian Matt Postal told commissioners at the meeting that the lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling, located at the west end of the Coney Island Peninsula, are likely the oldest structures on Coney Island. Funding was approved in 1889 and construction was completed in July 1890.
“These rare, distinctive, and well-preserved structures remind us of the crucial role that the Coast Guard has played in maritime history and the importance of New York Harbor as a significant gateway to the nation,” he said.
New York City has six landmarked lighthouses, none of which are in Brooklyn.
The proposed landmarked site. Image courtesy of LPC
Colonel David Porter Heap, major of engineers for the Third Lighthouse District, which covered New Jersey to Massachusetts, supervised the construction, Postal said. The lighthouse was modeled on the now-lost Throgs Neck Lighthouse at Fort Schuyler in the Bronx, and the keeper’s dwelling was modeled on the Edward L. Woodruff-designed Gould Island Lighthouse in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, he added. The house has a pitched asymmetrical roof, recessed porch, dormer windows, and rounded corner bay, Postal noted.
The cast-iron, 71-foot-tall lighthouse was fabricated either in New Jersey or Pennsylvania by the Phoenix Iron Works. It sits on a square concrete foundation, and has an 87-step stair with a watch room above. Inside, there was originally an octagonal lantern, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens that had a range of around 14 nautical miles. In 1989, the lighthouse was fully automated and it remains in operation.
The six-room, wood shingle-clad, two-story Queen Anne keeper’s house was occupied for many decades by a full-time light keeper. The most recent was Frank Schubert, who lived in the house from 1960 to 2003. Schubert is considered the last of the United States Coast Guard civilian lighthouse keepers, Postal said.
The house is owned by the Coast Guard and leased to the Sea Gate Association. The Schubert family has given tours of the lighthouse in the past, and members of the public may be able to arrange a visit through the Sea Gate Association or the Coast Guard, according to a website about the lighthouse created by Scott Schubert.
LPC Chair Lisa Kersavage said the commission would hold a public hearing on the designation soon.
“I’m delighted we’re taking the first step toward recognizing the Coney Island Lighthouse as a New York City landmark. The Lighthouse and Keeper’s House are among the oldest surviving structures on Coney Island, and wonderful reminders of the vital role of New York Harbor has played in our city’s history and development,” she said.
This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Brownstoner.