World Through My Eyes: 2025.10.16 Explore Fire Island Lighthouse, Fire Island, New York

Fire Island is a narrow barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island, New York. On its western end stands the Fire Island Lighthouse, now part of the Fire Island National Seashore, which became a unit of the National Park Service on September 11, 1964.

The first lighthouse on Fire Island was built in 1826. It stood 74 feet tall and was made of Connecticut River blue split stone. The current lighthouse, completed in 1858, rises 168 feet and has 182 steps leading up to the top. It was originally built of red brick and painted a creamy yellow, but in August 1891, the tower was repainted with its now-famous alternating black and white bands.

In 1933, the original first-order Fresnel lens was replaced with a lighter one from the decommissioned Shinnecock Lighthouse. This new lens allowed the light to flash once every 7.5 seconds instead of once every minute. The Coast Guard decommissioned the light in 1974, but local efforts to preserve it soon followed. The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society (FILPS) was formed in 1982 to care for and maintain the lighthouse, which had already been listed on the National Register of Historic Places the year before.

When we visited the Fire Island Lighthouse, the wind was fierce. Unfortunately, we couldn’t climb the tower that day because several school field trips were already scheduled. Even so, we enjoyed walking around the grounds, taking photos, and admiring the lighthouse from the outside—a beautiful reminder of Long Island’s maritime past.

火島是位於紐約長島南岸的一條狹長沙洲。在其西端矗立著火島燈塔，現在是火島國家海岸的一部分，此海岸於 1964 年 9 月 11 日成為國家公園管理局的一部分。

火島上的第一座燈塔建於 1826 年，高 74 英尺(約 23 公尺)，由康乃狄克河藍石砌成。現在的燈塔於 1858 年竣工，高 168 英尺(約 51 公尺)，共有 182 級台階通往塔頂。燈塔最初由紅磚砌成，並塗成乳黃色，但在 1891 年 8 月，塔身被重新粉刷，換成如今聞名遐邇的黑白相間條紋。

1933 年，原本首次訂購的菲涅爾透鏡被更換為來自已拆除的辛內科克燈塔更輕的透鏡。新的透鏡使燈光閃爍頻率由每分鐘一次改為每7.5 秒一次。海岸警衛隊於 1974 年關閉了這座燈塔，但當地居民很快便開始努力保護它。火島燈塔保護協會（FILPS）於 1982 年成立，負責燈塔的維護與保養。此前一年，該燈塔已被列入國家史蹟名錄。

我們參觀火島燈塔時，風很大。可惜的是，那天我們沒能登上燈塔，因為已經安排了好幾所學校的參觀活動。即便如此，我們還是很喜歡在燈塔周圍漫步、拍照，並從外面欣賞這座燈塔——它是長島昔日航海歷史的美好見證。