Boston Light
Boston Light is a lighthouse in Massachusetts, at a modelled elevation of 6 m. Prospect Hill stands 72 m to the south, 9.5 miles off. The nearest named place is Fog Signal Building, a lighthouse less than a tenth of a mile away. Revolutionary Heritage Byway passes 9.1 miles off.
The story
Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. During the American Revolution, the original lighthouse was held by British forces and was attacked and burnt on two occasions by American forces. As the British forces withdrew in 1776, they blew up the tower and completely destroyed it. The lighthouse was eventually reconstructed in 1783, to the same 75-foot (23 m) height as the original tower. In 1856 it was raised to its present height of 98 feet (30 m) and a new lantern room was added along with a 12-sided second order Fresnel lens. It is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States (after Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey) and is the only lighthouse to still be actively staffed by the United States Coast Guard despite its automation in 1998. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1716.
Wikidata Q2895493, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Built
- 1783
- Height
- 27.1 m
What to expect
- Operated by
- U.S. Coast Guard
How to reach it
- 9.1 mi off the Revolutionary Heritage Byway, National
- 14.2 mi off the Battle Road Scenic Byway, National
- 21.6 mi off the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Skywalk Observatory · 10 mi
- Eagle Rock · 23 mi
- Sunset Ledge · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Little Brewster Island: 0.0 mi
- Shag Rocks Island: 0.4 mi
- Great Brewster Island: 0.4 mi
- Middle Brewster Island: 0.8 mi
- Calf Island: 1.0 mi
- Allerton Hill: 1.4 mi
- Telegraph Hill: 1.8 mi
- Strawberry Hill: 2.7 mi
- White Head: 3.6 mi
- Sagamore Hill: 4.0 mi
- Hull Lifesaving Museum: 1.6 mi
- Windmill Point Boathouse: 2.4 mi
- Paragon Park Museum and Museum Shop: 4.3 mi
- Benjamin Lincoln House: 5.9 mi
- Winthrop Public Library and Museum: 5.9 mi
- Fort Revere: 1.8 mi
- Battery Vincent: 2.0 mi
- Fort Warren: 2.0 mi
- Lighthouse Depot Wharf: 2.1 mi
- Civil War-era Castmate: 2.2 mi
- Hull Village Beach: 2.1 mi
- Nantasket Beach: 2.6 mi
- Nantasket Beach: 3.4 mi
- Hampton Beach: 4.1 mi
- Little Beach: 4.3 mi
- The Graves: 2.8 mi
- Weir River Woods Access: 4.6 mi
- Weir River Woods: 4.7 mi
- George Washington Boulevard Lagoon: 4.7 mi
- Emery Preserve: 4.7 mi
- Curci Studio 20 Madison Avenue: 5.8 mi
- The Lone Sailor: 7.4 mi
- Fight the Rise: 7.7 mi
- Rise: 7.7 mi
- Abigail Adams: 7.8 mi
- South Shore Model Railroad Club: 6.4 mi
- USS Salem: 7.2 mi
- United First Parish Church: 7.8 mi
- Herring Run: 8.2 mi
- Hood Milk Bottle: 8.3 mi
- SeaCoast Community Garden: 6.9 mi
- Albert 'Junior' Lombardi Garden: 7.8 mi
- Craig M. Simeone Square: 7.8 mi
- Joseph Ciampa Community Garden: 7.9 mi
- Eastie Farm: 8.0 mi
- East Head: 2.7 mi
- Middle Head: 2.9 mi
- Long Island Head: 3.4 mi
- West Head: 4.5 mi
- Nut Island: 4.7 mi
- Babcock Arboretum: 7.4 mi
- Nature's Pavilion: 10.3 mi
- Pine Knoll: 10.3 mi
- Oak Lea: 10.3 mi
- Stella Tirrell Picnic Area: 11.2 mi
- Fog Signal Building: 0.0 mi
- Rainshed: 0.0 mi
- Oil Shed: 0.0 mi
- Keeper's Dwelling: 0.1 mi
- Boathouse: 0.1 mi
- Commissioners Landing: 9.6 mi
- State Route 3 Parking Area Northbound: 15.5 mi
- State Route 3 Parking Area Southbound: 15.5 mi
- Westwood Rest Area: 15.7 mi
- Rock Falls: 10.5 mi
- Cascade Falls: 12.5 mi
- Pakomet Spring: 12.2 mi
- Quarry Spring: 13.3 mi
- Haywardville: 13.9 mi
- Dogtown: 24.3 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.7 miles of Boston Light. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prospect Hill | S 170° | 72 m | 9.5 mi |
| Penns Hill | SW 220° | 61 m | 8.3 mi |
| Turkey Hill | SSE 163° | 57 m | 6.3 mi |
| Mount Hope | SSE 161° | 56 m | 9.6 mi |
| Fennos Hill | NW 310° | 55 m | 8.8 mi |
| Scituate Hill | SSE 154° | 54 m | 7.0 mi |
| Forbes Hill | SW 235° | 54 m | 8.6 mi |
| Whites Hill | SSW 210° | 53 m | 9.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:48 | 18:19 | 18:56 |
| June solstice | 05:08 | 19:42 | 20:25 |
| September equinox | 06:32 | 18:06 | 18:43 |
| December solstice | 07:10 | 15:29 | 16:15 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 30 | 32 | 38 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 66 | 55 | 45 | 36 |
| Precip in | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Boston, 7 mi away.
Mean tidal range 9.05 ft at the nearest NOAA station.
NOAA CO-OPS station Boston Light, MA, under a mileaway — today’s predictions live there.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
National Register of Historic Places, reference 66000133OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element way/212121730
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to Boston Light.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.