Lightship 116, Pier 3, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Independent City, MD

Significance: Lightship 116 is one of the last extant lightships in the United States and has had few modifications during its service. Four generations of lightships were in use in the United States from 1820 to 1983, serving as an essential part of the system of aids to navigation that protected mariners and their ships by marking stations through a combination of light and sound. Lightship 116 is a well-preserved example from the third-generation of lightship design and from the vessel class of Lightship 100, whose most significant advance was the installation of a diesel-electric power plant. New technology, such as the Coast Guard's offshore light towers, eventually rendered lightships obsolete as they were replaced by other forms of navigational aids that did not require a crew. Lightship 116 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1980.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N959

Survey number: HAER MD-133

Building/structure dates: 1929-1930 Initial Construction

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 80000349

lightships steam engines maritime baltimore lightship pier inner harbor inner harbor maryland history of baltimore maryland steel hulls decks watercraft components staterooms galleys ship kitchens porthole windows bulkheads doors and doorways bunk beds windlasses anchors watercraft equipment diesel engines bells pilot houses horns communication devices engine rooms transportation aids to navigation w b barrett bureau of lighthouses charleston drydock and machine company justine christianson paul cora todd croteau r a dixon historic american engineering record hyde windlass company gustav kobbe lighthouse board lighthouse establishment jet lowe george h mills charles mitchell swen olsen stephen pleasonton william rankin burfoot sears us coast guard photo ultra high resolution high resolution power plants library of congress national register of historic places

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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