1874: The Debut of an Unusual Lighthouse in the Hudson River

November 14, 1874

Operations began for a lighthouse in a section of the Hudson River within New York’s southeastern region. This navigational aid, which was constructed to help guide vessels safely around a treacherous part of the river known as the Middle Ground Flats, is specifically located between the cities of Hudson and Athens. As the inaugural keeper of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (also called the Hudson City Light), it was Henry D. Best who first lit the structure’s beacon.

This two-story lighthouse was built on an unusually shaped granite caisson that had been specially designed to better withstand all kinds of debris and ice floes on the river. Another one of the structure’s standout architectural features is its mansard roof, a style characterized by all of the roof’s sides sloping downward to each of the walls immediately below.  

The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse — fully automated since 1949 — remains in service today. This lighthouse’s unconventional appearance earned it a prominent place in Michael Hearst’s 2017 book Curious Constructions – A Peculiar Portfolio of Fifty Fascinating Structures. Another cultural claim to fame for the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has been its cameo role in Odds Against Tomorrow, a 1959 film noir starring Harry Belafonte and Robert Ryan.

Photo Credit: U.S. Coast Guard

For more information on the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (also known as the Hudson City Light), please check out https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Land/All/Article/1944900/hudson-city-light/ and https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ny1544.sheet?st=gallery