The Little Red Lighthouse.
Gather round, children, and let me tell you a tale about the “fat and red and jolly” little lighthouse who stands proud as Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse. Originally built in 1880 on the lee shores of Sandy Hook, NJ, the pint-sized 40-ft beacon dreamed of traveling the world. Opportunity knocked when it was relocated in 1921 to Jeffrey’s Hook, where for a glorious decade, the petite star brightly warned ships away from the dangerous rocky shores of the Hudson River.
But, just like Disney told us, a villain inevitably appears and our story took a sad turn in 1931 when The George Washington Bridge opened and its much brighter lights overshadowed the little lighthouse. Outshined and faced with obsolescence, the lighthouse was decommissioned, its lamp was extinguished, and it was curtains closed for our scarlet diva. And in case that wasn’t insult enough, the dastardly Coast Guard announced plans to demolish the mini monolith and sell its cast-iron shell for scrap!?
But, lucky for our shining star, not everyone forgot about him thanks to Hildegarde H. Swift’s classic children’s book, “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,” which taught children the classic lesson that even the small can be mighty! After hearing of the lighthouse's potential demise, the public raised awareness to save our little lighthouse from the grasping clutches of capitalism.
Admitting defeat, the Coast Guard gave the lighthouse to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and it subsequently became a member of the Historic Homes Trust of New York City and was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Our little red lighthouse finally received the recognition he deserved, and he’s still friends with that mean ol’ bridge to this day.
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So what’s the moral of this story? In the face of adversity, always make sure you have a good publicist.
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