United States Lighthouse Service Buildings
Completed in 1869. Vaults were built into the hill west of the Barracks building for the storage of oil used as fuel for the lamps in the Nation's lighthouses before the invention of electrically illuminated lighthouses.
Bay Street Landing, Saint George, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, 10301
Circa 1901. The Light House Museum is making plans to expand into this building.
Lamp Shop, 5D, Bay Street, Saint George, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, 10301
Completed in 1864.This is the first building constructed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service after taking over the north half of the federal property from the Revenue Service in 1863. The building is referred to today as "The Barracks"
The Barracks, 5A, Bay Street, Saint George, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, 10301
The original workshop building was built in 1868 and fully operational by 1871. It housed several workshops including a lamp shop, a blacksmith shop with a forge, a brass foundary, and a steam engine room with a 20 horse-power boiler.
Warehouse, 5C, Bay Street, Saint George, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, 10301
U.S. Lighthouse Service Administration Building, as it appeared in 1884. Construction began in 1869 and was completed in 1870. A north and south wing were added by 1901.
Administration Building, 5B, Bay Street, Saint George, Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, 10301
By an act of Congress on March 3, 1863, $50,000 was appropriated for the purchase of a lot and erection of a suitable building for the federal Lighthouse Establishment. After considering some locations to purchase land for a General Lighthouse Depot, it was decided to save funds by transferring to the U.S. Lighthouse Service some of the Staten Island property already owned by the federal government – the northern half of the 5 acre property of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service on the former Quarantine Grounds. By 1867 the remaining half of the 5 acre plot was transferred to the U.S. Lighthouse Service and several additional buildings were constructed. Some of those buildings still stand as landmarked structures at Light House Point in present day St. George, but they are still waiting to be incorporated into economic development projects. Nevertheless, one of those buildings, the former machine shop, houses the vibrant National Lighthouse Museum.
The first storehouse building constructed in 1864 was later known as the Barracks. This image shows the Barracks in 1868. The empty space on the left is where the Administration building was later erected. The structure on the lower right contains the oil vaults. (National Archives)
The the oil vaults were built into the hill (originally a bluff in this area), completed by 1869. The beginnings of a building in the foreground is the Workshop building (also known as the first Lamp Shop building). (National Archives)
The Workshop building (also known as the Lamp Shop) was erected in 1868 but fully completed by 1870. This photo is from 1890. (National Archives)
U.S. Lighthouse Service Administration Building, as it appeared in 1884. Construction began in 1869 and was completed in 1870. A north and South wing were added by 1901. (National Archives)
The former Machine Shop is now the National Lighthouse Museum. The building next to the Museum is the former “New” Lamp Shop. The National Lighthouse Museum is planning to expand into this building. The structure behind the museum is the Accolade, a condominium in a gated community at Bay Street Landing standing on the former property of the New York State owned quarantine ground. (Photo by author, 2015)