2019 Little Red Lighthouse Festival

Alexander Ganias, ‘20

October 2019

Even if you don’t live near there, chances are you’ve heard of the George Washington Bridge. This bridge connects Washington Heights in Manhattan, with Fort Lee in New Jersey, and leads to routes such as the Westside Highway, the Palisades Parkway, the Cross Bronx Expressway, and more. But have you ever noticed the small 40-foot structure beneath the bridge on the Manhattan side? That, dear reader, is Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, the last standing lighthouse on the island of Manhattan.

The lighthouse, constructed in 1889, was originally stationed in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. However, the Hudson River was particularly shallow on the New York shore, and many boat crashes occurred. The state of New York needed something to help navigate those tricky waters. They originally had a lamp on a stick, which (predictably) got damaged in a storm; it was replaced with TWO lamps on a stick… and met the same result. Thankfully, New Jersey was willing to dismantle the lighthouse and ship it over to New York. In 1921, the lighthouse was reconstructed on Jeffrey's Hook, where it has stayed ever since. 

Photo credit: Alexander Ganias, ‘20

For ten years, the lighthouse shone brightly to help barges and clippers navigate the tricky Hudson; however, in 1932, the George Washington Bridge was completed and opened. The bridge’s numerous radiant lights rendered the lighthouse’s lights obsolete; and since there was no need for a lighthouse anymore, it was decided that the lighthouse would be dismantled and auctioned off for scrap metal. This all changed in 1942, when the course of the lighthouse’s life would forever change. That year, Hildegarde Swift released the children’s book “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge” (illustrated by Lynd Ward). This book sent shockwaves throughout the nation and raised awareness of the lighthouse’s situation. Children and adults alike demanded that the lighthouse remain on Jeffrey's Hook, and the Parks Department listened. In 1951, the Jeffery’s Hook Lighthouse was given to the Department; and 26 years later, it was put on the National Register of Historic Places. The nickname “Little Red Lighthouse” stuck, and people have been calling it that since. In 1991, it was deemed a historic landmark of the state of New York.

The Little Red Lighthouse has been a staple in the community of Northern Manhattan for years, and one of the main reasons for that is the annual Little Red Lighthouse Festival, which has been taking place since 1993. This festival is held once a year, around early October, and is free for all of the public to attend. The event includes games, food, and booths for the neighborhood’s many organizations. This year, the festival was held on October 5th. The weather was perfect, and the festival drew many people (as it usually does). The lawn was littered with many backyard style games: giant chess, giant checkers, giant Connect-4, giant Jenga, the list goes on. There were also aforementioned booths, and one singular Greek food truck. On the outskirts of Jeffrey's Hook there was a fishing station, where the public can learn to fish, free of charge, and without a legal fishing license. I spent about an hour of my time there because as a New Yorker, I don’t have many opportunities to fish (especially since I am not legally licensed to fish in the first place). I was complimented on my casting, but that seemed to be the only thing I had going for me. I had lost two of my sinkers, used three rods, and caught zero fish, so I felt it was time to move on.

Since people of all ages attend the festival, there had to be activities that would entertain even the youngest of the attendees. To satisfy this need, the festival organizers set up a puppet show, which then proceeded to be performed a grand total of once. It portrayed a young cow named Bessie, who wanted to join the circus, and eventually, through trial and error, made her way on. The second activity, one that takes place every year, and one of the main attractions was a reading of “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge”, the book that had both saved the lighthouse from being taken down, and gave it a new name in the process. In past years, famous celebrities have come to the park and read the book to the audience (James Earl Jones read it one year). This year, the host let a group of young children help turn pages and read the iconic book. Hildegarde Swift’s book has touched multiple generations of readers (including myself), and it will continue to do so with the Lighthouse Festival.

The most notable part of the festival, however, is that the lighthouse itself is opened to the public. The line to get in usually gets very long, very quickly, so if you want a chance to see it, you better arrive early. Your wait will not be boring however, as many park rangers will give you tidbits on the history of the lighthouse and of the nature that surrounds it. One of the rangers broke out a native style woodwind instrument and played it for the patient crowd. As I was up at the top of the lighthouse, I noticed everyone taking in the wonderful views of the west side of Manhattan, and of the New Jersey Palisades. There was not one person up there that wasn’t in awe at the views and of the height of the Lighthouse: one ranger said to me, “40 feet is taller than you think”. Each group of 15 people was given about 10 minutes to go up and down, but as people figured out, it was more than enough.

The festival drew people of all sorts, whether they knew about it or not. One lady said, “I read about it yesterday, and I love it. It’s great,”; one father and son duo even told me they had been biking 6 miles beforehand and were surprised to find themselves at the festival. It’s clear that this festival attracts even those who haven’t heard of the event until that day, which only adds to its impact on the community. Of all of the pleasantly unexpected visitors,however, none were more proud of it than Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer. She only appeared for 20 minutes, but her message was clear: “[The festival] is fabulous. We always want to have more people come to this festival, and what it shows me is that we need more funding for parks.” Brewer felt very passionate about the continued support of Manhattan parks, and when I asked her about coming here to show her support, she stressed the importance of her attending despite her busy schedule: “I had ten events today, but I had to make time to come here, because it’s just that important”.

The Little Red Lighthouse Festival has been a huge part of the Washington Heights community since its inception almost 30 years ago, and continues to serve as a reminder of the integral role that NYC parks play in the lives of its citizens. If you haven’t done so before, I implore you to attend the festival the next time it comes around. The travel may be a pain, but it’s all worth it in the end.