page_title: Boston Light
section_title: Today
hierarchical_section_title: Boston Light / Today
caption_attribution_description: English: Boston Light and the City of Boston, MA, USA, from the sea.
context_page_description: Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States. The current lighthouse dates from 1783, is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States, and is the only lighthouse to still be actively staffed by the United States Coast Guard, being automated in 1998 though there is still a keeper acting as tour guide. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
context_section_description: Boston Light was automated in 1998, but is still staffed by resident Coast Guard keeper, Sally Snowman, who is assisted by Auxiliarist watchstanders from the Coast Guard Auxiliary. However, these personnel are mostly used to act as interpretive tour guides for visitors.
  Its light, flashing white every 10 seconds, shines through the only second-order Fresnel lens still in use in Massachusetts (of only four total), and is visible from a distance of 27 nautical miles (50 km; 31 mi). Although it is still an important navigation mark, its importance has been decreased over the last century by the use of Boston Harbor's North Channel for most large vessels entering the harbor, which is marked by Graves Light.
  Guided tours of the island and lighthouse are available, by prior arrangement, with access on the ferry Columbia Point in the morning or afternoon, or by private boat in the middle of the day. They are also available through the National Park Service, twice daily on summer weekends.
  The lighthouse underwent major renovations in 2014 and was covered with scaffolding. It reopened to visitors in 2015.
caption: 2007
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