Of all the lights I have photographed, this one turned out to be the most disheartening, not because of the light itself but because of its location.  Atlantic City was once a small coastal village but is now a bustling resort, filled with brighly lit casinos.  Absecon Light was built in 1857 at a cost of $57,000.  It is similar in construction to two other fine towers in New Jersey, Barnegat and Cape May.  It housed a first-order Fresnel lens and lighted the way for ships traveling up the Delaware Bay until it began to be obscured by buildings and the lights of the casinos.  It nearly succumbed to beach erosion before a jetty was built in 1878 to protect it from the encroaching shoreline. It was retired in 1933 and is now owned by the city.

Even though Absecon is located just a few blocks north of the casinos, the neighborhood is somewhat run down.  I was actually harassed by a passerby as I stood inside the high chain link fence surrounding the lighthouse property !  Efforts are underway to rebuild the keeper's house and other buildings as they once stood nearby.   The tower itself is in good shape, having been recently repainted in its original color scheme.  It has great tourist potential if efforts are successful in sprucing up its surroundings.

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