Name and Location

Deer Island Light, also known as Deer Island Head Light, is located on Deer Island in Boston Harbor, City of Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The address is 82QW+W5 Boston, MA, USA (Plus Code). The coordinates are 42°20′23″ N, 70°57′16″ W.

Construction and History

The light station was commissioned by the U.S. Lighthouse Board in 1851 and deactivated in 1982. The original tower was replaced with a fiberglass beacon on a metal post erected on or near the original site.

Architecture and Materials

The original tower was a square wooden structure built atop a 1½-story keeper's brick dwelling. The architectural style is mid-19th-century utilitarian, with attached light tower. The materials used are brick and wood framing, with a wooden lantern room. The height of the original tower is approximately 30 ft (9 m) from base to lantern roof.

Light and Navigation

The original light was equipped with a sixth-order Fresnel lens, characteristic unknown, and range about 8 nautical miles. The current aid to navigation is an automated, solar-powered fiberglass beacon on a metal post.

Accessibility and Visiting

Access to the island is restricted and managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Public access is not available; no visitor facilities or tours of the light station exist. Nearest public viewpoint: Harbor Islands ferry routes or private vessel.

Notable Views and Landscape

Deer Island offers panoramic views of the Boston skyline to the west, shipping channels to the south and east, and industrial and treatment-plant facilities on site.

Anecdotes and Folklore

The point light keeper also kept watch for shipping traffic in the narrow harbor channel. The 19th-century Boston Harbor expansion and fortification works led to shifting navigational needs, with Deer Island Light serving small-craft traffic and local fishermen more than deep-draft vessels.

Technical and Operational Details

The current beacon is administered by the U.S. Coast Guard First District. Technical details, including characteristic and range, are not publicly documented.