Post Your Lighthouses!

[greatgrandma]

I saw this lighthouse as we left Hoorn was able to get two good .pictures. The Hoorn West Havendam lighthouse is located at the end of the west breakwater at Hoorn. The date of construction is unknown although we do know that a station was established here in the 1600s. It shows a white light, 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off. on a wood post with quadrupod bracing, painted black. There is a red and white post nearby.

Hoorn West Havendam Lighthouse

Hoorn West Havendam Lighthouse

engraving of the Hoorn West Havendam Lighthouse

 

[greatgrandma]

In Willemstad
I went and took photos of the lighthouse and what I thought was the fire station next to it. (It turned out to be a lifeboat station)

Willemstad Light from the water side

Willemstad Light and rescue building


This is a currently inactive (since 1989) lighthouse located on the Lantaarndijk on the waterfront of Willemstad, overlooking the Hollands Diep, a segment of the lower Maas east of the junction of the Haringvliet and Brouwershaven, the estuaries north and south of Goeree-Overflakkee. The station was established in 1820, but the old tower was destroyed in WWII. So the current 33 ft square cylindrical brick tower with lantern and gallery, unpainted; lantern painted yellow with a red conical roof only dates back to 1947. The original lighthouse was an interesting pentagonal cast iron skeletal tower. There may be a small museum in the lighthouse, but I did not investigate this. The lighthouse is located next to what I thought was a firehouse - the sign on it translates as Rescue. But pieter_jan_v 5 of VirtualTourist explained that Reddingsbrigade = LIFEBOAT brigade so it isn't a firehouse. And that makes sense as it is right next to a lighthouse which is for sailors

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Although I was not able to actually get to Marken on my 2016 trip, I did photograph the Paard van Marken (the Marken lighthouse) twice from the IJsselmeer on our way to and from Hoorn.

The lighthouse is located at the eastern tip of the island of Marken, in the Markermeer about 19 miles northeast of Amsterdam. Because of its profile as seen from a distance, the lighthouse is traditionally called het Paard van Marken (the horse of Marken).

Paard van Marken

It is a good walk from the village. The lighthouse was built in 1839 by J. Valk on a site of a more primitive tower that was on this site dating from about 1700. The focal plane (height of the light) is 53 ft. The lighthouse is active and has a white light oscillating once every 8 seconds. The lighthouse consists of a round brick tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 2-story keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white; lantern dome is red.

Markem lighthouse from a ship


In the winter, northeast winds funnel ice down the IJsselmeer toward the lighthouse, sometimes endangering the buildings; the original keeper's house was destroyed by ice in 1879, the present keeper's house was heavily damaged in 1900, and in 1971 ice reached the roof of the keeper's house. The lantern was replaced in 1992, and the fog horn was deactivated in 2001. The lighthouse was declared a national monument in 1970. The lighthouse is privately owned and is occupied at the moment.

Sunset on the IJsselmeer

Nice set of images, Rosalie. You didn't miss much, not being able to visit Marken. It's a quaint little island.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

In Willemstad

I had no idea we had a Willemstad in the country. In Curaçao, yes, but here?

 

[greatgrandma]

Nice set of images, Rosalie. You didn't miss much, not being able to visit Marken. It's a quaint little island.

I wanted to go there because it was one of the places that we visited in 1950. I'm on the left 12.5 years old

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

I wanted to go there because it was one of the places that we visited in 1950.

Ah, I see. In that case, yes, a pity you couldn't revisit.

 

[greatgrandma]

I had no idea we had a Willemstad in the country. In Curaçao, yes, but here?

The town is inside a perfect star shaped fort. If you look at a map of Willemstad you will see that the original small town is inside of a star shaped fort (seven points) with a moat around the fort. The fort walls, covered with grass are all around the small town.

water entrance - gap in the moat

This is an old map which shows the sea gate -right - Willemstad


Jeroen van der Werf describes the area (and I don't understand the description because I'm not familiar with the Old Dutch System) so I am quoting him here: The fortifications were designed according to the Old Dutch System, only here the flanks of the bastions' are not perpendicular to the curtain walls but have a retreated curved shape .. and are quite short. In later years some of these flanks were modified to make them perpendicular to the curtain wall. Apart from the walls facing the sea, which were revetted in brick, all the ramparts were unrevetted earthworks. The seaward front of the town consists of two bastions with water in front of them. Between this water and the river (which in the past was part of the sea) there is a glacis, which prevented ships from coming too close to the walls and gave extra protection against enemy fire......the overall form of the current fortress dates from the 1680's

Fort wall near the lighthouse

Texaco station on the main street

Fort wall near the windmill

 

[greatgrandma]

Key West lighthouse is visible from Hemingway's house in Key West. in 2011

Lighthouse from Hemingway's house


I took a picture of the lighthouse from the balcony (Hemingway used to complain that the lighthouse keeper could see into his bedroom) I took a photo of Hemingway's house from the top of the lighthouse back when I climbed it - you could for sure see the balcony.

 

[greatgrandma]

Driving south along the Outer Banks of NC in 2004 there was a long skinny section where we could see water on both sides of the road (Hurricane Isabel cut the road in about three places along here - washed it completely out and made three new inlets). We got to Avon, and then a short while later we could see the Hatteras lighthouse. This is where the USS Monitor was wrecked.

Cape Hatteras Light


The black and white spiral makes Cape Hatteras one of the most recognizable lighthouses in the US, and the 208 feet height makes it also the tallest in the United States. The light can be seen for 20 miles, warning ships of Diamond Shoals (the graveyard of the Atlantic) which is a twelve-mile (12) long sandbar just offshore.

Diamond Shoals is the meeting place of two great ocean currents: the cold Labrador and the warm Northbound Gulf Stream. Where they collide, it creates fog and ever changing sandbars just beneath the water surface.The present lighthouse was built like the light at Cape Lookout and had a first-order Fresnel lens to magnify a small oil wick flame. It was replaced by a rotating beacon--a double affair with 1000-watt lamps in each beacon. Today, the beacon is automated, but at the time it was built, the keeper had to wind weights suspended by heavy cables in order to rotate the thousand-prism lens. In good visibility, it can be seen 51 miles at sea and 115 miles in the air. The octagonal base of brick and granite, measures twenty-four (24) feet by fourty-five (45) feet six inches. The black and white barber-pole paint, or "candystriping" was added in 1873 to make the lighthouse more distinctive during the day.

There is another similarly painted lighthouse in Florida ( St. Augustine - shorter and with a red lantern), but I guess they figured that if you didn't even know whether you were in NC or FL, you were in such sorry shape that there wasn't much hope for you. The lighthouse isn't available for climbing this time of year.

Cape Hatteras Light postcard


I have a postcard from my grandfather - he climbed it back in 1908. He wrote my grandmother, "Was up to the top of this, the finest light house in America, lens cost $15000." In 1908, postcards were my grandfather's Tweets

back of the postcard


As early as the 1920s, erosion became a major problem to the new lighthouse. In the summer of 1999, the lighthouse was moved 2899.57 feet from its original location.

Top of light

Hatteras Lighthouse from the Keeper's House

 

[JohnPD]

Driving south along the Outer Banks of NC in 2004 there was a long skinny section where we could see water on both sides of the road (Hurricane Isabel cut the road in about three places along here - washed it completely out and made three new inlets). We got to Avon, and then a short while later we could see the Hatteras lighthouse. This is where the USS Monitor was wrecked.

Cape Hatteras Light


The black and white spiral makes Cape Hatteras one of the most recognizable lighthouses in the US, and the 208 feet height makes it also the tallest in the United States. The light can be seen for 20 miles, warning ships of Diamond Shoals (the graveyard of the Atlantic) which is a twelve-mile (12) long sandbar just offshore.

Diamond Shoals is the meeting place of two great ocean currents: the cold Labrador and the warm Northbound Gulf Stream. Where they collide, it creates fog and ever changing sandbars just beneath the water surface.The present lighthouse was built like the light at Cape Lookout and had a first-order Fresnel lens to magnify a small oil wick flame. It was replaced by a rotating beacon--a double affair with 1000-watt lamps in each beacon. Today, the beacon is automated, but at the time it was built, the keeper had to wind weights suspended by heavy cables in order to rotate the thousand-prism lens. In good visibility, it can be seen 51 miles at sea and 115 miles in the air. The octagonal base of brick and granite, measures twenty-four (24) feet by fourty-five (45) feet six inches. The black and white barber-pole paint, or "candystriping" was added in 1873 to make the lighthouse more distinctive during the day.

There is another similarly painted lighthouse in Florida ( St. Augustine - shorter and with a red lantern), but I guess they figured that if you didn't even know whether you were in NC or FL, you were in such sorry shape that there wasn't much hope for you. The lighthouse isn't available for climbing this time of year.

Cape Hatteras Light postcard


I have a postcard from my grandfather - he climbed it back in 1908. He wrote my grandmother, "Was up to the top of this, the finest light house in America, lens cost $15000." In 1908, postcards were my grandfather's Tweets

back of the postcard


As early as the 1920s, erosion became a major problem to the new lighthouse. In the summer of 1999, the lighthouse was moved 2899.57 feet from its original location.

Top of ligh

Hatteras Lighthouse from the Keeper's House

View attachment 7998

Wonderful photos, Rosalie. And the post card is really special.