Celebrate Manhattan's Only Lighthouse In Washington Heights

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The The Little Red Lighthouse Festival will be held this weekend to celebrate one of Washington Heights' most well-known literary landmarks. On Saturday, Oct. 7, the city Parks Department will host the celebration for the 25th straight year.

The festival celebrates the Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse, which was made famous by the children’s book, “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,” according to Parks Department officials. The red lighthouse — which is also the only lighthouse on the island of Manhattan — was built in 1880 and moved to its current site near the George Washington Bridge in 1921.

The festival will be free to attend and will feature lighthouse tours, fishing clinics, live music, food vendors and family-friendly activities, according to the Parks Department. A live reading of “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" will be performed by Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver during the festival.

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The festival will take place on the grounds of the lighthouse in Fort Washington Park from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday.

"When the Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse in 1948, the plan was to auction it off. However, the children’s book, 'The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,' prompted a public response that saved the lighthouse," read a Parks Department press release. "Today the icon is celebrated as a reminder of our city’s history and the lesson of the book—that even small things can be important."

Photo courtesy NYC Parks Department