Friday, December 19, 2014

I ((Heart)) Lighthouses!

Welcome to the second week of Lighthouse Love, aka Friday Light Day! Today's two lighthouses have a bit of interesting history that goes along with them.

There wasn't a name attached to this first lighthouse so we'll call it, The Abandoned!






The Communist Party of the Soviet Union built a chain of lighthouses, powered by small atomic reactors. These lights had to be totally autonomous because they were located hundreds of miles away from anyone capable of running them. The purpose of the lighthouses was to guide cargo ships through the complete darkness of the Polar Circle. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the lighthouses eventually went dark. The huge warning signs posted at the area touting the danger of going near the radioactive lighthouses did nothing to deter looters. The thieves ignored the signs to steal copper, contaminating themselves and the whole area. Silly Russian robbers...now you won't need the lighthouse to glow!

Next is the Fire Island Lighthouse on the Fire Island Inlet, Long Island, New York


Originally built on the Fire Island Inlet in 1826, this light used whale oil, lard, mineral oil and kerosene to fuel the lamp. Electricity eventually reached the light in 1938, only to be knocked out the very same month by a hurricane. The light was decommissioned in 1973, but in 1982 a group of supporters was formed to raise money and the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The light was restored and by 1986 it was relit and reinstated as an official lighthouse! Great job New Yorkers!

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