Name: Norton's Point Lighthouse, Coney Island Lighthouse, Coney Island Light Station
Location: Beach 46th st., Sea Gate, Brooklyn, NY
Structure: Skeletal
Colors: Black & White
Stairs: 87
Date of Building: 1890 (copied from the one at Throg's Neck, NY)
Height: 80 feet
Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel Lens (originally), 190mm Fresnel (currently)
Bulb: 1,000 Watt Bulb
Current Keeper: Frank Schubert
Previous Keepers:
1890-1908 Thomas Higginbotham, Mike Bailey, and Daniel W. Bailey
1908-1944 Herbert Greenwood
1944-1960 Adrien Boisvert

Coney Island Light Station aka Coney Island Lighthouse and Norton Point Lighthouse Established in 1890 The design for the Coney Island Lighthouse was based on the one in Throg's Neck, NY. The design was chosen because it was easy to take apart and move, since at the time the area was unstable in many ways. It was built in 1890 at Norton's Point, which at the time had been referred to also as Coney Island Point. When it was established, the first keeper was Thomas Higgenbotham. After him was two brothers, Mike and Daniel W. Bailey. Then in 1908 it was manned by a New Englander named Herbert Greenwood. He manned the station until 1944 when Adrien J. Boisvert took over, and he and his family manned the station until 1960 when Mr. Boisvert retired. When my grandfather, Frank Schubert, took over in 1960, he became the new Jack-of-all-trades at the Lighthouse. He took over the responsibilities of maintaining the tower, house, and area surrounding them.

When he moved in, the house was painted by a nasty putrid green color that much of the cottage (house) was painted. It was one of the standard Coast Guard colors, but it was so ugly that it was soon painted over with a much nicer white. Other changes soon followed. The lamp inside the lighthouse revolved by using weights attached to a line. The mechanism would be wound up so that a heavy weight would be near the lamp at the top of the tower. As the weight would drop, the line would rotate and the light would turn. And when the weight fell all the way down, it would have to be wound again. My Grandfather simply lengthened the four-hour line to one that would allow for a longer runtime. My Father grew up aiding in this winding, as did my Aunt and Uncle. And when the lighthouse was eventually automated, this mechanism was replaced by machinery that did the job.

Grandpa loved talking to people about the lighthouse and the Coast Guard. Over the years the tower has had numerous visitors including class field trips, a busload of elderly women, writers, photographers, historians, lighthouse buffs, fishermen, police, military, and even wanderers looking for a tour. Generally, my Grandfather has always been very cordial and accomidating, even in recent years where he couldn't run up and down the tower as easily as he used to. The original lens was a forth-order fresnel lens, that is now kept in the Coast Guard artifact collection and is sometimes lent out to museums.