This little known lighthouse located in the Bay of Brothers,
between the Bronx and Queens, near Rikers Island, served the captains of the
harbor who sailed through Hell’s Gate from 1869 to 1953. An octagonal
ight tower atop the keeper’s house was originally fixed with a sixth
order lens, beaming a fixed white light. In 1900, installation of a fourth
order lens increased the intensity of the light. The lighthouse shared the same
island with an infamous New Yorker by the name of Typhoid Mary. Typhoid Mary
(Mary Mallon) was quarantined on the island’s Riverside Hospital, which
specialized in infectious diseases.
North Brother was witness to the greatest maritime disaster in New York City
history. On June 15,1904, the excursion ship "General Slocum" was on a
leisurely afternoon cruise, when it was consumed by fire. When the fire broke
out the captain headed for North Brother Island. People on the island assisted
in the rescue of hundreds of passengers, but panic set among those on board and
over 1000 lives were lost.
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