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23-538: The first lightstation was established south of the Ambrose Channel off of Sandy Hook , New Jersey , in 1823. From 1823 through 1967, several ships served the Ambrose Channel station; each was referred to as Lightship Ambrose and bore the station's name being painted on her side. In 1906, the lightship serving this station was relocated closer to the center of the Ambrose Channel. On 24 August 1967,

46-578: A caisson light at Diamond Shoals off the North Carolina coast in the late 1880s showed that the techniques of the day were not adequate, and it was not until the 1960s that the Coast Guard attempted to replace the lightships with permanent structures. By that point, experience with offshore oil drilling platforms provided a model. The six lights were similar in form and, excepting the first, nearly identical in construction. Each consisted of

69-414: A dense fog, rupturing her hull. She was later repaired, and redeployed to Portland, Maine . Retired from lightship duty in 1969, she passed through several owners before being sold for scrap in 1984. The Lightship Ambrose (WLV-613) was commissioned in 1952 and became the last lightship to mark the Ambrose Channel when she was replaced by a Texas Tower lightstation on 24 August 1967. She was reassigned as

92-402: A framework of four steel, concrete-filled piles driven deep into the ocean floor, upon which a square platform was set. This platform contained the living quarters and was assembled from a set of modules. A tower was attached to one corner and housed the light. The roof of the living quarters formed a helipad ; a dock was also provided low on the framework. The name of the station was displayed on

115-507: A hand-rung bell for a fog warning. A Thiers automatic bilge pump , ventilator, and fog signal were installed in 1872, but the fog signal was found to be "unsatisfactory" and was removed. Two collisions were recorded during her time in service, the first in 1874 with the steamer Charleston , and the second in 1888 with the British barque Star of the East . Lightship Sandy Hook (LV-51)

138-491: A large sign on each side of the light, on the side of or just below the platform. The quarters provided living space for six regular crewmen plus three transients. Normally, four crewmembers were on duty at a time, with regular rotation to shore. In addition to monitoring and maintaining the beacon, the crew also operated weather reporting equipment. While these towers have stood against any storms thus far, two of them have fallen victim to ship collisions. In 1996, Ambrose Light

161-423: A large structure. Three of the towers were dismantled over time due to deteriorating structural conditions among other problems, while another one was destroyed in a ship collision. The last Texas Tower was deactivated in 2016 having served for over half a century. Today only three of the former lights remain. These lights were all constructed at offshore stations previously served by lightships . An attempt to set

184-992: A number of occasions, the light tower was redesigned and relocated in 1999, and finally decommissioned and removed in 2008. Once inside the Narrows , Ambrose becomes the Anchorage Channel which splits into channels to marine terminals. Connecting channels are the Bay Ridge, the Red Hook, the Buttermilk , the Claremont, the Port Jersey , the Kill Van Kull , the Newark Bay , the Port Newark ,

207-647: A relief ship on the Massachusetts coastline from 1967 to 1975. After being renamed Relief (1967 to 1980) and then Nantucket II (1980 to 1983), she was reassigned to Nantucket Shoals . She alternated with her sister ship, the Lightship Nantucket (WLV-612), on station, relieving each other approximately every 21 days, and was retired in 1983 after 31 years of service. WLV-613 had various assignments following her retirement including use in public relation events and law enforcement missions. She

230-461: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Texas Tower (lighthouse) A Texas Tower lighthouse is a structure which is similar to an off-shore oil platform . Seven of these structures were built in the 1960s off the shores of the United States . Automation started in the late 1970s, which led to the obsolescence of the housing built for the keepers which resulted in such

253-492: Is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey , and Breezy Point, New York . Ambrose Channel terminates at Ambrose Anchorage, just south of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge , the gateway to New York Harbor , where it becomes known as the Anchorage Channel. It is named for John Wolfe Ambrose , an engineer from New York. The entrance to

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276-479: The (then) survivors revealed that four out of five showed substantial deterioration. Brenton Reef Light was demolished in 1992 and replaced with a buoy. The Buzzard Bay Light was demolished and replaced with a smaller tower in 1996; the Diamond Shoals and Frying Pan Shoals lights have been extinguished; both towers still stand and are now privately owned. Chesapeake Light was retrofitted with solar panels and

299-676: The Ambrose Channel. Although the station was active throughout World War II, Ambrose was never armed, but did gain a radar in 1945. Ambrose was involved in a number of collisions. In September 1935, she was rammed by the Grace Liner Santa Barbara , with both ships sustaining heavy damage. In January 1950, she was "brushed" in heavy fog by an unidentified vessel, suffering damage to her radio antenna and losing her spare anchor . Eleven weeks later, in March 1950, Santa Monica , another Grace Line vessel, rammed Ambrose in

322-602: The Ambrose station lightship was replaced by a Texas Tower , the Ambrose Light . The first lightship on station in the Ambrose Channel was the Sandy Hook , which marked its south edge for 37 years from 1854 to 1891. A schooner built of white oak with copper and brass fastenings, she was assigned the number 16 in 1862. The ship was equipped with two lanterns , each with eight oil lamps and reflectors, as well as

345-597: The Elizabeth, and the Arthur Kill . Anchorages are known as Stapleton, Bay Ridge and Gravesend . Notes Further reading 40°31′06″N 73°59′25″W  /  40.5184398°N 73.9904166°W  / 40.5184398; -73.9904166 This article about a location in Queens, New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Monmouth County, New Jersey state location article

368-648: The channel was marked by Ambrose Light which doubled as a staging area for pilot boats , most notably the Sandy Hook Pilots . Prior to the construction of the light tower in 1967 the channel was marked by the Ambrose Lightship , one of a class of lightships operated and maintained by the United States Coast Guard for the express purpose of marking main shipping channels for major ports. After being struck by small boats on

391-441: Was built in 1892 and served the post from 1894 to 1908. She was renamed Ambrose Lightship in 1907. Pilots would deliver mail to the vessel. A steamship , she was the first U.S. lightship to have an all- steel hull and fastenings, and the first to use electric lights; she was also the last ship to hold the post on the southern side of the channel, near Sandy Hook. After 1908, she was reassigned to relief duty. On 24 April 1919, she

414-647: Was rammed and sunk by a Standard Oil barge while relieving the Cornfield Point Lightship (LV-14) . As a result of this incident, Standard Oil was forced to pay for the construction of LV111, which served as the Lightship Ambrose from 1932 to 1952. The Lightship Ambrose (LV87) was built 1908 and served her station until 1932, when she was reassigned to serve as the Lightship Scotland much closer to Sandy Hook. She

437-690: Was retired from the United States Coast Guard , and in 1968, she was given to the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan in New York City and moored at Pier 16 on the East River . In 1989, she was declared a National Historic Landmark . Lightship Ambrose (LV111) staffed the station from 1932 to 1952, a period of time encompassing all of World War II . She was the first diesel -powered ship to mark

460-698: Was sold to New England Historic Seaport on 7 July 1984 and was present for the rededication ceremony for the Statue of Liberty in 1986. By 2006 she had been sold to the Wareham Steamship Corporation and was berthed on Main Street in Wareham , Massachusetts. Ambrose Channel Ambrose Channel is the only shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey . The channel

483-502: Was struck by a Greek oil tanker, damaging it severely enough that it was replaced in 1999 by a new, smaller tower (which itself was struck twice before being demolished by the Coast Guard in 2008). A month after the Ambrose accident, Savannah Light was completely demolished when a container ship struck it. By that time all of these stations had been automated, beginning with the Diamond Shoals Light in 1977. Inspection of

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506-408: Was the first lightship to serve in the relocated position nearer the center of the channel, and in 1921 received the first radio beacon in the United States , greatly assisting navigation of the congested channel in dense fog. She also was the last steam-powered vessel to hold this post. She moved around to various stations, but has kept the name of her most famous station, Ambrose . In 1964, she

529-659: Was the last tower to be an active navigational aid. In August, 2016 the light was deactivated by NOAA after it was determined that the structure was deteriorating. The design of the Texas tower is now considered obsolete since there is no longer a need for a structure to house the keepers. The first Texas tower in the United States was the Buzzards Bay Light , located in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts , which

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