Frying Pan (LV-115) is a lightvessel moored at Pier 66a in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It spent over 30 years patrolling the treacherous Frying Pan Shoals off Cape Fear in North Carolina because the local Bald Head Lighthouse was too short and its lens too dim to warn mariners of the shallow waters.
Construction started in 1929 at the Charleston Drydock & Machine Co. for a contract price of $274,434. The vessel was equipped with a light, horn, manually operated bell, radio, radio-beacon, and a submarine signal bell when built. It was so reliable that it served the Frying Pan Shoals station from 1930 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1964. It was also used as an examination vessel during World War II as part of training.
The ship retired in 1964, served briefly as a relief ship in Cape May, New Jersey, and was decommissioned in 1965. The ship sank in 1986 but was raised in 1987. Restoration of the ship began in 1988. It was purchased and sailed to New York City in 1989 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Today, Frying Pan serves as a cafe & restaurant in Hudson River Park, New York City. It is one of about 13 surviving American lightships out of about 100 built. It is a far cry from the days when it had to withstand North Carolina gales alone, but it remains a preserved piece of maritime history.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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