Gay Head Light

"Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts"

Built: 1856
Automated: 1956

"This 51-foot tall brick tower (170 feet above sea level) marks the Devils Bridge Rocks at the entrance to the Vineyard Sound. It replaced the original 1799, 47-foot tall wood octagonal tower. The new tower was fitted with a first-order lens, one of the first Fresnel lenses used in the country. All of the station's buildings have been dismantled or destroyed and only the tower remains today. In 1990 the lighthouse was opened to the public for the first time in 35 years."

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Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey
Conceived and Developed by David S. Carter
Photographs by Donald W. Carter
Text by Diana K. Carter, Donald W. Carter & David S. Carter

Copyright © 1995-2006 David S. Carter, Donald W. Carter, & Diana K. Carter. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, physical or electronic, in part or in full, without the express permission of the authors, is strictly prohibited.