At Jeffrey’s Hook, a red iron lighthouse stands in the riverfront park beneath the sweeping deck of the George Washington Bridge. The 40-foot tower’s compact silhouette gives this stretch of Manhattan a landmark with a story that links navigation, children’s literature, and a neighborhood campaign to protect a small piece of city history.
The tower began its New York-area life in 1880 as the North Hook Beacon at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. In 1921, the U.S. Bureau of Lighthouses reconstructed it at Jeffrey’s Hook, a rocky point on the Hudson River, to strengthen navigation along the busy waterway. Its flashing red light and fog signal guided river traffic beneath the steep Manhattan shore.
The George Washington Bridge rose overhead from 1927 to 1931, reducing the lighthouse’s prominence as a navigational aid. The tower continued guiding river traffic through 1947. A different kind of light had already reached the lighthouse through Hildegarde H. Swift and Lynd Ward’s 1942 picture book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge. The fictional lighthouse in the story finds its place beside a much larger structure, giving generations of readers a way to see the real tower as a character and a neighborhood treasure.
When the Coast Guard planned to auction the lighthouse, public affection for the book became practical support for the landmark. NYC Parks’ history records an outpouring of letters and contributions from children and adults. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission later noted that more than 50 schoolchildren’s letters supported preserving the structure. On July 23, 1951, the Coast Guard transferred the property to New York City Parks.
The lighthouse is now recognized as a New York City landmark and a place where a small, vividly painted tower carries the memory of a citywide preservation effort. In 2026, the Historic House Trust announced an initial $13 million city investment for a restoration and accessibility project, continuing the work of keeping Jeffrey’s Hook welcoming for future visitors.
More than a century after its move to Manhattan, the Little Red Lighthouse still draws families, cyclists, and riverfront visitors to Fort Washington Park. Its enduring appeal comes from the real tower, the storybook that helped generations imagine it, and the children whose letters helped secure its place beneath the bridge.
Sources: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse designation report; Historic House Trust of New York City, restoration announcement.
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