Ceremony at Lighthouse to Celebrate New Beacon

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Exact replica of original lens has been installed in the Lighthouse.

June 4, 2015

| by Robert Kimmel |

Without its light since the 1960’s, the Lighthouse by night has been a murky silhouette in the Hudson River off the Sleepy Hollow shoreline. But that is about to change. Originally labeled the Tarrytown Light when it was built in 1883, the structure was decommissioned in 1961, and its valuable lens was removed and sold in 1965.

Using donated private funds and grant money, the Village of Sleepy Hollow and the Westchester County Department of Parks have had an exact replica of the original Fresnel Lens rotating light made and installed in the Lighthouse. The light, lens and brass housing were duplicated at a cost of $35,000. About another $5,000 was spent to refurbish the electrical wiring and connections in the Lighthouse.

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The benefit of that investment will be shown at its initial public display on Wednesday, June 10, at 11 a.m. when a dedication ceremony for the “Relighting of the Lighthouse” takes place. The public is invited to join state, county and village officials at the event at Edge-On-Hudson, formerly the General Motors property at 199 Beekman Avenue in Sleepy Hollow. Light refreshments will be served. Tours of the Lighthouse are planned following the event. Those wishing to attend should contact Burns Patterson of Hudson PR at burns@hudson-pr.net.

Edge-on- Hudson is the new name given the site by the developer, Lighthouse Landing Venture LLC. The special permit provided to the company by Sleepy Hollow allows it to build 1,177 residences, 35,000 square feet of office space, 135,000 square feet of retail space and a 140-room hotel. The developer is also expected to be the lead sponsor of a new community event, Circus Latino, which will debut this September at the riverfront property.

The lighthouse had been operating for 82 years prior to its decommission which was brought about when the Tappan Zee Bridge was built in 1955 and had sufficient navigational lighting to make the Lighthouse obsolete. It was turned over to Westchester County in the 1970s, and it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1979. Future plans call for the structure, also known as the Kingsland Point Lighthouse, to be completely restored to its original condition.

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