Baltimore Harbor Light
The Baltimore Harbor Light, officially Baltimore Light and historically Baltimore Harbor Lighthouse is a privately owned caisson lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. First lit in 1908, it sits at the mouth of the Magothy River, marking the channel which leads northwest to the opening of the Patapsco River, which then leads into the Baltimore harbor. At the time of its construction, it was the world's tallest caisson lighthouse. In June 2006, Baltimore Light was sold at auction to private owners by the General Services Administration for $260,000; the U.S. Coast Guard maintains rights to operate a light on the structure.

Although a lighthouse had been requested at the site since 1890, it was not until 1904 that construction actually began. In October of that year a violent storm struck the construction site, upturning the caisson and sending it to the bottom of the Bay. The contractor defaulted on the work, and it was not until late in 1905 that construction could resume. The lens was finally installed and the light lit in 1908. It was the last lighthouse to be constructed on the Chesapeake.

In May 1964, the Baltimore Light became the first and only American lighthouse powered by nuclear power, as a test of the SNAP-7B 60 Watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator. One year later the RTG was removed and a conventional electric generator was installed. Currently the lighthouse is solar-powered.

The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Baltimore Light Station on December 2, 2002.
Q5017835
caisson lighthouse
Concept
Q216868
Chesapeake Bay
LOC
Q1391
Maryland
LOC
Q6732381
Magothy River
LOC
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Patapsco River
LOC
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Baltimore harbor
LOC
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General Services Administration
Concept
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U.S. Coast Guard
Concept
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caisson
Concept
Q289612
contractor
Concept
None
SNAP-7B
UNK
Q305208
radioisotope thermoelectric generator
Concept
Q1483757
solar-power
Concept
Q4852868
Baltimore Harbor Light
LOC
Q4852868
Baltimore Harbor Light
LOC
1908-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1908
DATE
2006-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 2006
DATE
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1890
DATE
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DATE
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DATE
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1908
DATE
1964-05-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
May 1964
DATE
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December 2, 2002
DATE
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260,000
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60
NUMBER
located in or next to body of water
service entry
service entry
located in the administrative territorial entity
located in or next to body of water
located in or next to body of water